Fletcher's man goes Kiwi in St Heliers

Mark Adamson. Photo / Steven McNicholl

Fletcher Building chief executive Mark Adamson is about to settle on a $3.8 million mansion in St Heliers' dress-circle street Lammermoor Drive.

The head of New Zealand's biggest listed company said he had paid a deposit and the deal was due to settle next month.

He deliberately picked St Heliers as an area he thought was Auckland's best because of lifestyle, location and views, buying through Barfoot & Thompson Remuera branch agent Trent Colyer.

"I could have lived in Remuera or Parnell, which is just like a lot of cities, but I wanted to maximise the experience," he said. But he did not intend to buy that particular house.

"I was looking at a house which turned out to be leaky. I was driving back, really disappointed, and noticed the open home. I don't want to be having any problems," he said.

The minimalist house sold by Peter Jones, only finished in July, has a pool, underground garage, and views to Rangitoto and the Hauraki Gulf.

"It's the full Kiwi lifestyle," said Adamson, originally from Britain, who took the Fletcher helm from Australian Jonathan Ling in October.

Adamson, who works from Fletcher's world HQ in Penrose, is married to Hazel and their children are Holly, 15, and George, 13. The family is looking at King's College and St Kentigern College for schooling.

They spent Christmas at their Orlando, Florida house but Adamson said his teenage children were less interested in the Walt Disney park.

Adamson shifted here from Cincinnati where he headed Fletcher's international Formica business and turned it around financially.