Whakapapa Holdings preparing fresh bid for Whakapapa ski area

Whakapapa Holdings Ltd will commence an application to operate the ski area. Photo / Ruapehu Alpine Lifts

A fresh application is under way for Whakapapa Holdings Ltd (WHL) to operate the Whakapapa ski area on Mt Ruapehu.

Director Dave Mazey told Newstalk ZB the company had been negotiating with receivers Calibre Partners and the Crown “for some time” and it was close to signing off a sale and purchase agreement for the ski area’s assets.

WHL and Calibre have agreed to commence an application for a new concession from the Department of Conservation to operate Whakapapa.

“That agreement will be subject to a number of things, but primarily it’s us being able to gain a license from the Department of Conservation [DoC] to run the ski area,” Mazey said.

“We are at the point where we should commence preparing this licence application.”

Tūroa skifield is being operated by the Pure Tūroa company this season after it received a 10-year concession from DoC.

Mazey said at this stage, Whakapapa Holdings would also request a 10-year concession.

If that was successful, the company would take over ownership on April 1 next year, he said.

“The big thing about it is people are starting to get confidence that it is now probable there’ll be a new operator and Whakapapa will be run by a company that’s committed to it.”

Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL), which operated both the Whakapapa and Tūroa fields, went into voluntary administration in October 2022, owing more than $40 million.

It was officially put into liquidation in June 2023.

Whakapapa Holdings formally withdrew a bid for Whakapapa last December.

“How it was evolving then, it was less palatable as an investment opportunity,” Mazey said.

“Following discussions with a number of key parties we decided to reengage and make a further offer, and that’s what we’ve been working on.

“We have confidence as a business that the Whakapapa ski area is viable commercially.”

He said having the ski area trading successfully brought value to the central North Island in particular.

“A key third branch to that tree is you’re operating in a National Park, you’re operating in a World Heritage Site and you’re operating on a maunga [mountain] that is incredibly significant to iwi who have lived around it for 1000 years.”

Whakapapa Holdings was confident it could provide the stewardship required for the area, restimulate the market and make a commercially viable business, Mazey said.

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.