Kiwi investor win heralds changes

Sean Wareing

A major rule overhaul is on the way for the listed property sector, after significant changes to the management of New Zealand's largest real estate entity.

Kiwi Income Property Trust unitholders yesterday voted for changes which will give them similar powers to shareholders and ensure the entity owning $1.29 billion of real estate is run more like a company than a trust.

Investors will get more of a say in the running of the trust, which also upgraded its payment forecasts from 8.7c to 9.1c.

Next year, a group of fund managers plan to overhaul the appointment of independent directors, which they want to be carried out by unitholders, not management.

"Then the board won't get to pick their own friends," said ING chief investment officer Rebecca Thomas.

Major institutional investors holding 22 per cent of Kiwi's units had demanded yesterday's meeting.

More than 90 per cent of unit holders voted in favour of resolutions to cut the threshold for them to requisition meetings from 10 per cent to 5 per cent, lay out clear time limits for convening meetings and make it easier for unitholders to put matters up for discussion.

The victory came at quite a price for the agitating unitholders: many months of bitter dispute, a legal bill paid by investors approaching $1 million and threats that they would have to stump up $100,000 for the cost of running any meeting they demanded.

Even the timing of yesterday's meeting was an issue because the investors did not want it held so close to Christmas.

Executives at Brook Asset Management, Arcus Investment Management, ING, Walker Capital, AMP Capital and Alliance Capital backed the changes, which now make it mandatory for Kiwi's manager to take account of investors' views and hold annual meetings.

The 105-minute gathering at Ellerslie had its nasty moments, particularly when Australian Sean Wareing, chairman of Kiwi's manager, threatened to lose his temper, attacked media coverage, thundered that his professional integrity was being questioned and spoke over the top of Brook's Simon Botherway.

"I approve your desire to make a speech but direct your comments to the two resolutions before us," Wareing told Botherway.

But Botherway reminded Wareing that the meeting was requested by unitholders and continued, while Wareing paced the rostrum, drank water, stared at his feet and adjusted his twin microphones.

"This is indeed a watershed day for investors in New Zealand," Botherway said, "when 22 per cent of investors felt sufficiently aggrieved and were compelled to change the trust deed.

"This will herald a new era of accountability and trust unitholders will have the same rights as shareholders. We consider this sets a precedent for all other listed trusts in New Zealand."


What Sean Wareing had to say:
* "If I go any further, I'll start to lose my temper."
* "There's no tsunami wave of discontent about the trust or Sylvia Park."
* "I'm scandalised you talk about coming clean. I don't mislead anyone."
* "I've read colourful newspaper articles suggesting a tidal wave of concern."
* "Reading newspaper articles, the public would think we were a rather cavalier bunch."