Southern Capital ponders its property development future

By Chris Hutching

Friday 25th October 2002

Southern Capital is moving to complete some of the resource management issues surrounding two of its proposed property developments near Christchurch amid speculation that a buyer is preparing an offer for them.

The property developments under consideration are understood to include the proposed Pegasus Bay township at Woodend north of Christchurch and the Waimakariri Business Park alongside the northern motorway near Kaiapoi.

Executive chairman Graeme Wong acknowledged that the company was considering a range of possibilities for the future development of the projects, ranging from outright sale to partnership of some kind.

Reliable sources suggest South Island investor and developer John Darby may be positioning himself to take over the two Christchurch developments.

He declined to comment but he recently registered a new company, New Zealand Land Trust, which is understood to be a possible vehicle for such an arrangement.

Mr Darby has considerable experience in various kinds of property development, including Clearwater Resort where he is a partner with Southern Capital founder Howard Paterson. Given the close relatio nships of the parties involved, any such deal will involve independent valuations and reports to ensure the interests of Southern Capital minority shareholders.

Mr Wong has been frustrated by the length of time taken to achieve property rezonings for the projects and it has affected the company's share-price performance.

The company has a policy of seeking to reward shareholders with share-price appreciation and it does not pay dividends.

The only shareholders to receive any "dividends" so far have been the founder directors Mr Paterson and Phil Burmester who received restraint of trade payments of $1.5 million after the first couple of years the company was formed.

This week the shares traded at 59c, above the record low of 45c in mid-2000 but down from the $1 high of October 2000.

Since August 2001 when the shares were 95c they have eased in a consistent trend. The decline is attributed to delays associated with maturing of some other speculative Southern Capital investments as well as the two Christchurch property projects.

The delays associated with the Pegasus Bay project were caused by appeals from Environment Canterbury based on concerns about energy efficiency and transport. Southern Capital is seeking court costs understood to be about $700,000 from Environment Canterbury following the unsuccessful appeals. The company is also working through waste discharge issues at the Pegasus Bay township with Waimakariri District Council and inclusion of the township in the proposed district plan.

Meanwhile, the focus of the company appears to be changing toward achieving a more stable earnings base with the recent purchase of the Hirequip franchise.

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