Jobs unaffected by Direct Broking sale

Dorchester Pacific has sold its discount brokerage Direct Broking to ANZ National Bank for $5.1 million.

Direct, which pioneered internet share trading in New Zealand, has a client base of about 40,000 and represents about 7 per cent of NZX transaction turnover.

It would operate as a subsidiary of the bank, led by its founder Nigel Wynn and fixed interest director David Speight.

Provided the NZX approves the sale, it will be settled at the end of the month.

The 30 jobs at its Auckland and Wellington offices are not affected by the sale, the company says.

Direct would complement National Bank's Online Share Trading service and boost its internet share trading division to account for more than 10 per cent of total NZX trade volume, said the bank's managing director institutional Nigel Williams.

People were feeling more comfortable making transactions over the internet, and "the next evolution of that is internet broking".

Dorchester's interim chief executive Mark Simpson said the financial services company had taken Direct Broking as far as it could since buying it in 2000.

Shares in Dorchester closed steady at $2.35 yesterday, against a year high of $2.60 and a low of $2.12.