Lions tour good for billboard business

This year's election campaign is also helping business for George Gould of Gould Holdings. Picture / Dean Purcell

Christchurch businessman George Gould has reorganised his billboard empire to form the biggest single operator in the country.

Gould Holdings, the investment business majority-owned by interests connected with Gould, went on a spending spree last year, buying up seven billboard companies around the country, which have now been combined into one firm known as Isite.

Isite chairman Richard Austin said the billboard business was going well, particularly thanks to the election campaign and the British and Irish Lions tour.

The National Party has launched a high-profile "tax cuts" billboard campaign and Labour is expected to follow suit.

Isite has also won the tender to supply billboards at Wellington Airport, and would be looking to win the Christchurch airport contract when it came up for tender again.

Austin said advertising industry figures showed the billboard business was growing steadily.

The idea of investing in it came from an approach to the company to buy Waho, a Christchurch business, when its owners wanted to sell out.

"We were approached and we did due diligence not only on the company, but on the industry itself," Austin said. "We liked what we saw."

Gould Holdings' other investments include shareholdings in textiles business Pod and Mike Pero Mortgages.

- NZPA