Summerset Rototuna in Hamilton. Photo / Summerset Group
Could Summerset Group overtake Ryman Healthcare? What’s the mystery behind the sale of 18 Auckland townhouses? How much a night will Kiwi Property’s new Resido apartments cost? And what did institutions pay last week to buy out an Abu Dhabi owner of Precinct Properties?
Julian Cook, ex-Summerset Group chiefexecutive, delighted in his erstwhile company’s full-year result out last week.
The financials for the year to December 31, 2023, indicated even better times ahead for Summerset, he forecast, possibly overtaking rival Ryman Healthcare.
“How good is this result? Won’t be long at this rate and Summerset will have the largest market cap of the retirement village operators in New Zealand. Quite the story since starting in 1997 in Whanganui from scratch and the ca $300m market cap post IPO in 2011,” wrote Cook.
He worked for that business for 11 years, initially as chief financial officer.
Asked about Cook’s comments, a Ryman spokeswoman said no comment would be made.
NZX information shows Summerset trading above $11 compared to Ryman at around $4.60.
Summerset’s market cap is $2.6 billion, whereas Ryman’s remains larger at $3.1b.
Ryman’s projected build rate for FY24 is 650 to 750 units. It said on February 19 that it expected to be at the lower end of that guidance.
Summerset expects to build 675 to 725 units in 2024 so the two companies are pretty much neck and neck when it comes to the development of new stock.
Lender: ‘We didn’t call up the loan’
So close, yet so far.
Why would someone sell 18 Auckland townhouses as one lot without individual title or CCC (Council Code of Compliance)? Could this be a sign of yet further pressure on the struggling residential market?
Questions, questions.
Title information for 106 Triangle Rd, Massey shows Vincent Capital has loaned money on the property. The townhouses are up but now for sale in bulk. TDS Project Management is listed as the property’s owner. Shenfeng Zhang of Rotorua is its sole director and owner.
“This sale hasn’t been called for by us. We can’t give out the loan amount but it’s not in default,” said a Vincent boss.
Ray White Remuera agent Banson Chong is marketing the townhouses with Cary Chong, indicating a $12 million to $13m price.
Banson Chong said the owner had decided to sell to move on to the next project.
“He’s funding a much bigger project in Pukekohe with a subdivision for more than 100 sections and he’s also one of the largest developers in Rotorua,” he told Property Insider.
The townhouses passed final inspection but are awaiting code compliance certificates and titles to be issued, Chong said.
Resido - a place to stay soon for $381/night
Naylor Love is nearing completion of Kiwi Property Group’s first residential development, the $200m Resido.
Kiwi showed progress on its build-to-rent scheme via photographs supplied to Property Insider last Wednesday, when it said it had signed a deal with an Australian business to rent 34 of the 295 units.
Urban Rest will take over those 34 units and make them available to corporate clients and friends and family of people who rent other Resido units, CEO Clive Mackenzie said.
It’s not cheap.
Urban Rest is advertising a one-bedroom Resido place at $254/night and two bedrooms for $381/night. A communal lounge area, elevator, rooftop terrace, gym and co-working hub are offered by the Sydney business.
Urban Rest, founded in 2017, is advertising places in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, Dublin and London.
Precinct Properties - where institutions get a bargain
The 14.9 per cent Precinct Properties New Zealand stake sold by Abu Dhabi interests went for a discount to the trading price when it sold last week.
The underwritten block trade was scoffed up by institutional investors here and in Australia, an investment specialist said. Retail investors didn’t get a look in.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s Haumi Company had Jarden Partners manage and underwrite the sale of their 237 million shares in Precinct, the holding worth $261,678,360.90.
Haumi’s notice said the shares sold for $1.10 each. By late Thursday, Precinct shares were trading at around $1.16 so the institutions got a bargain.
Word of the deal leaked to the Australian media last Wednesday. It was only on Thursday that Haumi issued notices on the NZX via Precinct.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 24 years, has won many awards, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.