KEY POINTS:
The founder of New Zealand-based but Australian-listed property management company Blue Chip Financial Solutions is leaving the company but will remain a key shareholder.
Mark Bryers has retired from his role as an executive and director of the company, which emerged from a merger of private companies in 2000.
The company, which manages and finds owners for investment property, yesterday announced a bumper annual net profit of A$19.1 million ($21.7 million) to December before tax, an increase of 51 per cent.
Bryers believes Blue Chip is the largest private landlord in Auckland, with about 2500 properties in the city and about 200 in Australia.
He said the company was based in Auckland because 90 per cent of the country's population growth was expected to come from there in the next 20 years.
People were also increasingly turning to rentals rather than owning their own homes. "I think three years ago, Auckland had moved to 33 per cent of all dwellings rented, and they're projecting now that by 2012, half of all dwellings in Auckland will be rented."
Blue Chip makes its revenue from bank fees for arranging funding, client fees for investment structuring, and underwriting fees from vendors.
Blue Chip, which listed in 2004 through a defunct IT shell company called Newcall, courted controversy last year when it decamped to the Australian Stock Exchange.
The chairman at the time, Jock Irvine, said Australian investors had shown greater appetite for Blue Chip's shares than New Zealanders.
Bryers said Australia had a more sophisticated financial scene, possibly due to the huge flow of superannuation money in its economy.
He has gradually reduced his majority shareholding to 34 per cent but will retain a 23 per cent stake in Blue Chip.
He will also remain a consultant. His current role will be taken over by the existing heads of the New Zealand and Australian operations, Neil Bell and Andrew Murray.
Bryers said he expected to spend time on both sides of the Tasman, following up work and his investments.
- NZPA
