Privy Council next stop in fight for Richmond

By LIAM DANN and Agencies

The fight for control of meat company Richmond is not over.

The Bell group of shareholders announced at Richmond's annual meeting yesterday that it would directly petition the Privy Council in London for the right to appeal against a New Zealand court ruling which handed control of Richmond to southern company PPCS.

In October, the Court of Appeal overturned a High Court ruling which penalised PPCS for the way it purchased its controlling stake in Richmond.

Last week the Court of Appeal declined the Bell group's application to take the case to the Privy Council.

It did not reveal the reasons for its decision.

Having to go directly to the Privy Council would mean covering the cost of an extra trip to London but did not change the group's position, said spokesman Robin Bell.

He was optimistic the Privy Council would hear the petition early in the new year.

If the Privy Council accepts there is a case it could still be up to 18 months before it is heard.

Richmond chairman Sam Robinson told the annual meeting in Hastings that the company had traded below budget in the first two months of the current financial year.

This was due to the slow spring and the high dollar.

Management was still targeting a forecast pre-tax profit of $12.6 million.

However, that would require improvements in every part of the business.

Robinson declined to comment on the ownership battle other than to say that the board had an agreement with PPCS to run the business effectively pending the determination of any appeals.

Earlier in the day Richmond announced it would pay a $2 million "loyalty bonus" to its most committed farmers supplying livestock.

The company's livestock general manager, Tim Harty, said more than 1000 Richmond farmers would share the bonus, which recognised the value of the company's "premier supplier" partnerships.

The bonus will be paid from last year's results and was set aside before last year's profit was declared.

It will reach farmers just as Richmond enters a fiercely competitive procurement "war" in the lower half of the North Island.