Johanna Cederlöf, market manager for Ikea Sylvia Park, this month showed off a new flatpak box, displayed to show the retailer is hiring. Photo / Ikea
Johanna Cederlöf, market manager for Ikea Sylvia Park, this month showed off a new flatpak box, displayed to show the retailer is hiring. Photo / Ikea
From the ongoing downfall of high-flying developers to promises of Swedish meatballs — this year is set to be one to watch when it comes to property news.
Some think the tough lending landscape and unpaid tax bills will be the major themes of 2025 — others see skyline shifts and fast-tracked projects dominating headlines.
NZ HeraldProperty Insider Anne Gibson told The Front Page one of the biggest stories set to dominate the year is the continuation of the Du Val Group’s long-running legal saga.
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) and PwC case against townhouse and apartment developer Du Val, and Charlotte and Kenyon Clarke, has been set down for a three-day hearing in the High Court at Auckland in June.
“The Clarkes were very high profile in terms of the lifestyle that they were living and the image that they projected of highly successful property people.
“It’s interesting, too, that we’re still getting updates from Kenyon Clarke talking about him not living in fear, finishing his book, wanting to get his passport back, and wanting to hold the FMA and PwC to account.
“The unusual thing to me is that most property developers are not like that at all,” Gibson said.
In 2024, nterim receivership orders were made against Du Val founders Kenyon and Charlotte Clarke.
Perhaps one of the most anticipated developments in 2025 will be Ikea’s final-quarter opening.
The Swedish giant plans to debut its first Kiwi store at Auckland’s Sylvia Park later this year.
“Late last year, they issued an update showing about a quarter of the exterior cladding is on this huge warehouse, just on the other side of the railway lines from Sylvia Park.
“Naylor Love, the biggest builder in New Zealand in terms of workloads (it was, of course, working on the Christchurch Cathedral) is moving at pace on that site.
“There’s a huge amount of interest in it. It will be fascinating and will bring a new concept to New Zealand,” she said.
Ikea opened its external warehouse — a 20,000 sq m building, built and owned by Auckland Airport — in Māngere in December. The company’s fulfilment manager Adrian Pidgeon said shipments were expected to arrive at the warehouse in May.
The $407 million investment includes recruiting 400 people. Fabian Winterbine, Ikea group’s Sydney-based expansion manager, is heading operations to open the store and said many roles would be advertised from the start of 2025.
and whether more developer insolvencies are on the cards for 2025.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
