KEY POINTS:
Just hours after the majority of Hanover investors voted to accept his restructuring plan, one of New Zealand's richest men, Mark Hotchin, was at Kylie Minogue's final Auckland concert at Vector Arena last night enjoying the pop princess' tunes.
He may have done the locomotion out of financial
strife after more than 90 per cent of investors bit the bullet and chose restructuring over receivership, but Hotchin, along with his pretty wife Amanda and a large group of their affluent friends, was not letting yesterday's confrontation at Ellerslie convention centre stop him from enjoying a good night out.
Drinks flowed post-concert at nearby Easy Tiger bar where Hotchin and co mingled at the jungle-themed waterhole.
No stranger to celebrations, Hotchin was last month criticised for his lavish birthday bash at Fiji's exclusive Vomo Island where family and friends (many of whom were at Vector last night) were invited to celebrate at the world-class Pacific Island resort - at the same time Hanover investors were owed $527 million. Talk was rife last week that a container of decorations and props was sent at huge expense to Fiji for the pricey party.
It wasn't a good look. Hotchin admitted the timing of the party was bad.
If the investors had swung the other way yesterday and picked receivership over restructuring, we wonder whether Hotchin would have been bopping to the pop princess last night, or nursing his wounds and worries in the privacy of his own mansion.
Also at Vector Arena last night were Aja Rock and property developer David Southcombe; C4's Jono Pryor; Dancing with the Stars judge Alison Leonard; Soul bar maitre d Geeling Ng; PR princess Sarah Paykel and Breakfast weatherman Tamati Coffey who was seen singing along to Minogue's early hit Locomotion, which she performed as a special treat for her fans last night during her second encore.
Minogue jets out of Auckland today after being holed up at the SkyCity Grand Hotel where the likes of Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel, President Clinton and Bob Geldof have stayed.
Also living it up at Hotel Kylie last night - besides myself (I've been on Kylie watch since Saturday. Yeah, tough job, I know. But it hasn't been all lavish pampering and celebrity hobnobbing. I've had to work, too. You'll read all the juicy goss in my column on Sunday) - was the fabulous Phil Smith, who was last month named Independent Producer of the Year alongside his gorgeous colleague Rachel Gardner, who told me last night we're related. She's incredibly talented and beautiful to boot so I'm happy to claim her as a cousie.
Smith (Leanne Malcolm's hubby) and his colleagues from Great Southern Television - which produce such brilliant shows as The Unauthorised History of NZ, The Millen Baird Show, Eating Media Lunch, A Thousand Apologies, and Jeremy Wells' highly anticipated new show Birdland due out next year - were celebrating their Christmas party. I popped in for a glass of champers before dashing off to see Kylie.
Wells was looking particularly tanned last night, but not in the manner of Rodney Hide who just looks like he's suffering from a severe case of jaundice. Check out our piccies in Spy on Sunday.
Rachel Glucina
Pictured above: Mark Hotchin, executive director and major shareholder of finance company Hanover Finance. Photo / Brett Phibbs. Inset: Kylie Minogue live at the Vector Arena. Photo / Dean Purcell