Optimists successful in business

Cato Bolam's John Whisker.

Joni Mitchell may have sung about paving paradise to put up a parking lot. But John Wisker, a director of land development and environmental planning consultancy Cato Bolam Consultants, reckons developers are increasingly concerned about conserving the natural environment in which they build - and that's a growth opportunity for his firm.

"There are a lot of knockers of land developers, who think they just want to get in there and raze everything to the ground and build houses," says John. "But they really don't; developers really do want to build good quality developments enhanced with natural features like streams, waterways and bush, and in a way where everyone gets the value back out of them."

Cato Bolam is expanding to offer in-house ecology services, with the firm recently hiring a further two staff to work on environmental aspects of development projects, including land contamination issues, freshwater and estuarine ecology and biodiversity.

"It's becoming a very important part of land development now where you've got wetlands or streams going through developments that have to be protected and enhanced," says John, who heads the firm's office in Henderson, West Auckland.

Confidence is high at the firm, which also has offices in Orewa and Whangarei, with growth being driven by strong activity in the land development sector as infrastructure extends into new areas, particularly in Auckland.

"At the moment, we're confident about the economy and as a business we're feeling positive. We've got a lot of work in the pipeline."

Wisker is not alone in his optimism. GE Capital New Zealand's 2014 report on mid-market companies - those with annual turnover between $2 million and $50 million - found 56 per cent of the firms interviewed could be described as optimists, believing their domestic revenue will increase by at least 3 per cent this year.

The report also found optimists are more likely to be from the property, business and professional services industries or the construction and trade services industries.

Cato Bolam Consultants' services cover surveying, planning and engineering, and projects range from two-lot subdivisions through to town centre developments and subdivisions encompassing hundreds of lots. With extensive in-house land development expertise and experience, projects are managed through design, consenting and construction phases to completion.

"We've got a lot of subdivisional work going on, especially in some of the growth areas of Auckland like Kumeu, Riverhead and Gulf Harbour," says John. "There's obviously a shortage of housing in Auckland and we're also involved in a couple of the Special Housing Areas established by the Government. "

Another major project on the go is a new town centre development at Westgate, in Auckland's north-west, which John describes as one of biggest commercial projects currently under way in the city.

While growth is good, it doesn't come without its pressures. The biggest issue the GE Capital New Zealand report found for mid-market optimists is finding quality staff to meet the demands of growth - a sentiment echoed by John.

"We are on the lookout specifically for civil design engineers, and well-qualified surveyors and they're very hard to find," he says. "It's becoming pretty competitive and there's a lot of shoulder tapping going on."

But it's not holding the company back from exploring other growth opportunities, including looking to establish an office in growing South Auckland, primarily offering engineering and planning services.

"That's our next growth phase and we think we could have a small office there with an additional six or seven people in it quite quickly," he says. "We're pretty excited about that. There are costs associated with it, but if you're not there, you're not in the market."

For more insights into New Zealand businesses in the Mid-Market and the qualities they share, download the GE Capital New Zealand Mid-Market Report 2014