Old-hand Marac relies on personal approach

By RICHARD BRADDELL

It's an old name, and many people may be surprised that it is still around. But Marac Finance trades on, albeit under different ownership from the glory days of the late 70s and early 80s when finance companies like it filled a gaping hole that New Zealand's highly regulated banks were unable to fill.

In fact, the Marac brand disappeared altogether in 1991 when its then owner, NZI Finance, closed it as NZI recoiled from the misadventures of the 1980s that culminated in the disastrous losses of its subsidiary NZI Bank.

That was when Michael Reed, who had been a Marac branch manager in Auckland 10 years earlier, came in. His company, United Pacific Corporation, bought some of the NZI Bank assets which were merged with existing finance assets held by UPC.

The Marac name was not to reappear until 1993, when United Pacific acquired the rights. Mr Reed still owns UPC, but he has handed Marac's management over to former NZI banker Allan Laing.

Mr Laing said it had been full circle for Marac, which again targets small and medium-sized enterprises and is "doing what it used to."

Rather than going the electronic delivery route so popular in financial services these days, it continues to rely on personal contact and a hands-on approach.

Nearly three-quarters of lending is on plant, machinery, trucks and equipment while a quarter is in short-term property project funding.

While Marac is not into venture funding, it has financed a couple of management buyouts, putting its merchant banking experience to use in helping to structure them.

The Laing/Reed relationship began when Mr Laing was in charge of winding up the remnants of NZI Bank. UPC first took over some of the NZI assets, then in 1995 it took on Mr Laing himself, promoting him to general manager in 1998.

Since 1993, Marac's assets have grown from $10 million to $129 million and it now operates from offices in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch.