NZ will be my home again, says Watson

Entrepreneur Eric Watson co-owns the Warriors. Photo / Richard Robinson

Expat businessman Eric Watson says he is still excited about doing business in New Zealand and expects to return here to live some day.

Watson, who has lived in London for more than a decade, was in town this week to introduce Warriors fans to fellow multi-millionaire Owen Glenn, who has joined him as co-owner.

In an exclusive interview with the Herald, Mr Watson discusses his latest business ventures including drilling for oil in Texas, dairy farming on the east coast of the US and plans for a horse racing club offering luxury experiences to Chinese millionaires.

Although worth circa $400 million, Watson doesn't make the top 10 list of wealthiest New Zealanders but is one of the most talked about.

The public perception of him as the country's number one playboy-millionaire no doubt fuels the interest.

"I think you can take snippets of anyone's life," Mr Watson says.

"You don't get photos of me sitting in a boardroom for nine hours in New York trying to raise some money to drill an oil well ... or buy some cows or do a property deal ... I think it's a selective snapshot of the social part of my life. I think everyone has a social part to their life. Maybe I have some more interesting friends, I don't know."

While his investment focus is very much on the UK, US and China, Watson retains interests in New Zealand. He breeds racehorses and has stakes in Soul Bar and Bendon.

He estimates businesses he is associated with employ about 500 people in New Zealand.

Mr Watson also talks candidly about his views on Hanover Finance, what went wrong and why he thinks it has been unfairly lumped in with other finance company failures.

A co-owner of Hanover Finance - which froze investor funds in 2008 before selling its assets to listed company Allied Farmers - Mr Watson was never a director. With his focus on investment opportunities, he does not typically sit on the board of companies he invests in.

"My business model which I don't think is particularly well understood is not about operating companies ... its not about being a director. I'm not a director of Bendon, I'm not a director of the Warriors."