Mike Pero's home mortgage portfolio keeps on growing

Listed financier and takeover target Mike Pero Mortgages expects to have written almost $4 billion of home mortgages over a three-year term, well up on its performance during its first 13 years in business.

Chief executive Jeff Staniland said that from 1990 to 2003 the company had written $7 billion of residential mortgages. But by the end of this June financial year, it would have hit its three-year target of nearly $4 billion. New shareholder Liberty Financial of Australia this week increased its stake from 10.1 per cent to 19.6 per cent, saying the business had strong growth prospects.

Managing director Sherman Ma said: "We are enthusiastic about their prospects."

Meanwhile, NZPA reports that New Zealand Finance Holdings ended up with a 74.7 per cent stake in Mike Pero at the close of its $1.05 a share offer on Thursday night.

NZF gained acceptance for 19.59 per cent of Mike Pero shares through the offer, bringing its total stake to just under 75 per cent.

An NZF spokesman said the company would now seek "appropriate board representation".

NZF has been building its stake since last November, when it bought 54 per cent from Gould Holdings for 82c a share. It then launched a full takeover offer through which it gained just another 1 per cent.

It launched a second bid on January 31 but, in early February, Liberty nabbed a 10.1 per cent blocking stake.