Auckland Trotting Club keeps $10m buyer deposit after $100m Pukekohe sale fails

It’s what you might call a winner: a $100 million Pukekohe horse training property sale deal struck but the vendor keeping the $10m deposit when that didn’t settle.

Auckland Trotting Club president Jamie Mackinnon said it had tried to sell its 38ha Pukekohe training centre.

When the settlement date occurred last month and the full $100m was due, it was not paid so the club kept the downpayment.

“It’s nice to have but it would have been nicer to have the deal done,” Mackinnon said.

Franklin Park at Pukekohe was to sell for $100m but the deal never went ahead. Source / Franklin Park Training Centre

The club has now updated members of the failed sale to Mount Hope, which the Companies Office says is directed by Wei Li of Remuera.

“Mount Hope had missed the settlement date of November 8 and was provided with 12 business days to remedy this. Unfortunately, this did not happen and on Monday, December 2, we issued them with a cancellation notice which officially terminates the sale and purchase agreement,” members were told.

“Under the terms of the agreement, we keep the $10 million paid as a deposit and the property is now back on the market. While this is disappointing, it is not all bad news with already plenty of interest shown from four different parties looking to acquire this valuable block of land,” the club said.

The club now has a consented plan change and with further potential to considerably improve the value of this land which “supports the club’s belief that we can achieve a sale price to meet with our expectations”.

Meetings with interested parties had begun.

“The first looks promising with one of Auckland’s largest developers of residential land,” the club told members.

Alexandra Park apartments in Epsom next to Alexandra Park Raceway in March this year. Photo / Jason Dorday

Mackinnon told the Herald after the update to members was issued that people had been kept informed about the planned sale as well as the deposit.

The club had “shared” the cost of the application for the plan change with the potential buyer, Mount Hope, he said. That meant the land could be developed into housing and the Auckland Trotting Club is still keen to sell.

It wants to hear from parties interested in buying the land.

The club says the land was bought by the Franklin Trotting Club in 1948 as a harness training centre. It is:

• Track 1: Looks similar to Alexandra Park and is used for fast work;
• Track 2: Inside the main No 1 track and is a fines surface used for cantering, galloping and jogging;
• Track 3: Beside the main Track 1, has a sand surface, used for jogging.

More than 220 horses are worked on the tracks, the club says.

The property also has seven horse barns with accompanying paddocks for about 100 horses. About 11 trainers rent the barns.

The club was left owing close to $100m after major issues building apartments at Alexandra Park, the Herald’s Michael Guerin has reported.

The issues were fixed and the apartments sold and most of the retail space leased but the club faced enormous debts that threatened its survival, which could have ended harness racing in Auckland.

A court case against one of the original contractors resulted in a successful judgment for the club, taking further legal action to recoup some of their losses from that contractor.

Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 24 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.