Wellington brokers buys up in the Bay

Friday 24th September 2004

McDouall Stuart Securities Limited, an NZX Firm, has acquired the long established Hawkes Bay NZX sharebroking firm of LR Singleton and Company.

Announcing the acquisition, McDouall Stuart managing director, Andrew McDouall said that despite rationalisation of broking firms and the introduction of electronic transactions and communications in the industry, there is no substitute for face to face interaction with clients and consequently the role of the provincial broker remains important.

"Regional brokerages, especially in economically prosperous areas such as the Hawkes Bay, continue to provide an essential service in the securities industry.

"Investors in these areas have significant capital to invest in existing and new securities and they are an important part of the capital raising market'.

McDouall said the transaction had been confirmed for some weeks, "but we opted not to make a public statement on the acquisition until we had fully integrated both broking systems and compliance regimes, given recent events, to ensure that we can deliver the high standard of investment advisory service and transactional safety that clients deserve".

"This acquisition adds another office and some very experienced executives in Hastings which will add to our existing investment advisory and sharebroking business in Wellington, and the Corporate Finance capability that we have through our Australian offices in Sydney and Melbourne.

Lloyd Singleton, the principal of LR Singleton, will continue to manage the Hastings office, and will be joined by Stephen Eaton, formerly general manager of Perpetual Trust. Eaton has joined McDouall Stuart with a focus on improving and increasing the breadth of client services offered to both existing and new clients.

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