Wairarapa branches of building supplies outlet ITM have been sold to the man reputed to be New Zealand's richest.
Billionaire businessman Graeme Hart announced last week he had bought nine branches of ITM to bolster the Carters chain he already had, and among the branches purchased are the two in Wairarapa
? one in Masterton and one in Carterton.
ITM is a network of privately owned and operated stores joined in a buying co-operative. The owner of both stores before they were sold, John Cooper, confirmed the deal was finalised about 10 days ago.
He said there was some sadness on his part as a result of the sale, as he had been in the business for many years. The takeover will happen at the end of the month.
He couldn't confirm if he would be staying on in any other capacity and said he was unable to make comment as he had signed a confidentiality clause. Hart's company the Rank Group did not reply to a series of questions submitted to them about what the future for the Wairarapa ITM branches might hold.
