APN finance arm plans move to Whangarei

An Auckland-based financial management centre employing 75 accountancy staff is planning to relocate to Whangarei.

APN Finance Shared Service Centre, which manages all financial administration for the New Zealand operation of newspaper chain APN, publisher of nzherald.co.nz and The New Zealand Herald, broke the news to staff this week.

General manager Mark Smith said talks with staff would continue for a week and a final decision would be announced on February 8. All staff would be offered roles in the proposed new centre. Mr Smith said management personnel were set to move, but it was not yet clear how many other staff would choose to follow.

"We are encouraging as many of them as possible to move and will be helping them to do so," he said. He said the group aimed to work out of the Whangarei central business district.

In the group's announcement Whangarei was called "a dynamic regional centre, with lifestyle attractions for staff, a food business infrastructure and only two hours from Auckland by road".

Mr Smith said relocating APN Finance Shared Service Centre to a regional centre was "a proactive measure to further lower costs of transactions".

Relocation would also enable expansion opportunities for the group's services, including servicing of its online division and other internal customers.

Whangarei Mayor Pamela Peters said the plan showed how Whangarei was becoming attractive to large business.

"Obviously the move can only be confirmed after the staff consultative process is complete, but the proposal alone enhances the reputation of our city as a progressive one with enormous scope for a satisfying life," she said.

The APN Finance Shared Service Centre provides administrative back-up services to Northern Publishing, publishers of The Northern Advocate and the weekly community newspaper, The Report.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)