A8 BUSINESSDAY Tuesday, May 8, 2012 THE PRESS, Christchurch ■ RETIREMENT SECTOR PFI dips Three’s a company for Metlifecare but still upbeat Jason Krupp VILLAGE PEOPLE Metlifecare looks set to Retirement village operator Metlifecare is set to buy both Vision Senior Hamish Rutherford become the country’s biggest Living and Private Life Care in a merger deal that will see the new group with 3902 retirement units, up from Metlifecare's current 2460. private retirement village op- ’s only listed erator if its acquisition of both ■ Crestwood 134 ■ Kerikeri 40 industrial property owner Vision Senior Living and Pri- ■ Highlands 199 says companies are in- vate Life Care gets approval. ■ Pakuranga 87 creasingly willing to sign up The company yesterday ■ Pinesong 354 ■ Bayswater 232 to new long-term leases but announced it had concluded a ■ Powley 80 ■ Greenwood Park 238 are still able to demand deal which would see it take ■ 7 Saint Vincent 93 ■ The Avenues 88 incentives in return. ■ 140 ■ 94 full control of the two The Poynton Somervale Property for Industry said ■ 201 ■ 33 companies in exchange for Dannemora Papamoa in the three months to March ■ Waitakere 324 51.5 million new shares. 31 its distributable profits ■ Hibiscus Coast 269 MetLife Care fell 6.36 per cent ■ Hillsborough 217 were $3.57 million, an 8 per to $2.06 after it signed the ■ Longford Park 193 cent fall on the same period a merger agreements to pur- year ago, while rents fell 4.9 chase Vision Senior Living ■ Forest Lake 165 per cent to $7.41m. and Private Care Life. PFI said it would maintain Once merged, Metlifecare ■ Palmerston North* 193 its quarterly dividend of 1.55 would control 3902 existing cents a share. retirement units, 55 per cent ■ Wairarapa 81 General manager Nick of which would be based in Cobham blamed the fall on Auckland. That’s 817 more ■ Coastal Villas 180 property sales, as well as than rival , ■ Kapiti 225 lower occupancy, which stood which controls about 8 per at 96.2 per cent on March 31, cent of the market. ■ Oakwoods 137 ■ Metlifecare down from 99.4 per cent a year ■ In total, private companies VSL earlier. ■ account for about a fifth of the PLC PFI negotiated eight new New Zealand retirement vil- * 50% owned. Source: Metlifecare leases or extensions during lage market, with the remain- the period, with its weighted der operated by nonprofit average lease term increasing organisations. by six months to 4.34 years. The deal will almost triple WHO IS WHO? PFI has 49 properties, all Metlifecare’s land bank units, but five of which are in the to 1011 from 380. Metlifecare Auckland region. Aidan Craig, general man- Retirement village operator Metlifecare has 2460 retirement Cobham said that while ager of marketing and sales at units. Two months ago Metlifecare reported a 279 per cent there had been a reluctance to Vision, said the potential spike in interim net profit to $7.4 million for the six months to commit to long-term leases in benefits from merging his December 31, chiefly on the back of earnings from recent years, companies were company’s development investment properties. showing increased confi- assets with the earnings from Vision Senior Living dence, although when signing Metlifecare and PLC’s mature Vision is 68 per cent held by private equity funds, with the up to leases of a decade or villages outstripped plans to rest held by private shareholders in Arrow International more, the market was typ- float the company which were Group. ically demanding a month of being circulated last year. Aging population: There is a strong demand for retirement villages, with many having waiting lists. Photo: FAIRFAX NZ Private Life Care, PLC free rent a year. ‘‘It makes the combined PLC is fully owned by Retirement Villages New Zealand which ‘‘We believe occupants who company able to maximise see Vision shareholders paid ation executive director John waiting lists, for example, and Metlifecare will also issue is a subsidiary of unlisted investment fund Retirement are out there are ready to growth opportunities, which $83 million-worth of stock Collyns said the move construction across the sector a further 4.2 million shares in Villages Group, Metlifecare’s majority shareholder. RVG will commit long term, but they is a very positive thing,’’ he with an implied price to net positioned the company well as a whole is proceeding very exchange for $10m in capital be excluded from voting on the deal due to related-party want to see something for it, a said. tangible asset ratio of 56 per to capitalise on the aging well,’’ he said, noting the raised from the existing conflicts. bit of buy-in from the land- The deal needs to be cent, while PLC shareholders population demographic in market is set to grow substan- Vision shareholders to pay What next? lord, saying ‘we’ll commit approved by shareholders and will receive $123m, with a New Zealand. tially in future as baby down debt. The company will Provided all approvals are received the deal is expected to be long term but we want to see a the Overseas Investment ratio of 55 per cent. ‘‘There is strong demand boomers start moving to vil- also refinance Vision and completed by early July. bit of love’, if you like,’’ Office. If it goes ahead it will Retirement Village Associ- and many villages have lages in about a decade. PLC’s existing debt. Cobham said. SkyCity ■ TELEVISION Chorus shares drop again departure Dual launch for shopping channel Tom Pullar-Strecker BUM NOTE cations Minister Amy Adams Nick Krause Chorus shares dropped another 6 per told The Dominion Post she William Mace Television New Zealand about would launch on pay TV and being invested in the busi- Chorus took another beating cent yesterday, adding to a near 8 per expected any such impact Hotel and casino operator hosting the content at the free-to-air TV on the same ness, he said. from investors as analysts cent fall on Friday. would be ‘‘minimal’’. SkyCity Entertainment Group New Zealand’s first televised state-owned broadcaster came date. Briscoes is already on the suggested a Commerce Com- Forsyth Barr analyst Guy is keeping mum on the home shopping network, The to nothing. There had been an , MediaWorks and list of advertisers for the mission proposal to halve the 3.75 $ Hallwright said the cut could reasons behind the departure Shopping Channel [TSC], will uproar over TSC potentially Maori Television all have channel alongside several price of unbundled rural have the knock-on effect of of one of its key executives. launch on Sky Television in replacing public broadcasting potential free-to-air capacity. other clients, but O’Driscoll phone lines could end up 3.50 reducing the price Telecom The dual-listed company October but a free-to-air content on TVNZ7’s fre- O’Driscoll said he was ‘‘two would not name them. costing it about $35 million a paid Chorus to deliver phone yesterday confirmed chief partner is yet to be decided. quency, which becomes avail- weeks away’’ from being able Retail Association chief year in lost revenues. and broadband services over 3.25 operating officer Stuart Wing It was announced yester- able in June once TVNZ7 to confirm who would be executive John Albertson said Chorus shares have slid about 600,000 phone lines – had resigned. Wing and his day the Sky channel would stops broadcasting. That fre- helping produce the channel’s retailers would embrace any 13.6 per cent since Friday about 40 per cent of Chorus’ family had chosen to return to run on an 8 hour-a-day sched- quency will now screen TV programming, where pro- new sales channels that got morning, when the com- 3.00 Close: $3.04 total lines – by more than $4.50 Australia after 18 months ‘‘for ule on Sky’s Channel 18, with One’s programming delayed duction would be located and them in front of target mission published its pro- down 21 cents a month. personal reasons’’. much of it being filmed and by one hour. how its equipment would be customers. posal, wiping more than 2.75 Source: NZX ‘‘If Telecom sells a line He had planned to take broadcast live, similar to O’Driscoll said TSC was leased. Home shopping channels $180m off the value of the Dec May with a broadband service on leave in May so SkyCity United States equivalents, not targeting TVNZ7’s fre- Contract talks for pres- overseas were also used to company. 2011 2012 it, then Chorus gets a Naked agreed his resignation would HSN and QVC. quency specifically, but that enters were also under way: clear obsolete lines of stock at The wider New Zealand DSL price which is the UBA take effect immediately. The channel’s general speculation had ‘‘muddied the ‘‘Some will be known, some discount prices, he said. market was down about 0.38 billion off the market’s value, [unbundled bitstream access] The departure comes dur- manager of operations, waters’’ for TVNZ and he will be new,’’ he said. ‘‘You’ve got the online per cent yesterday, holding up while the Tokyo and Hong price plus the geographically- ing tumultuous public debate Michael O’Driscoll, has since understood why negotiations TSC had held discussions space, you’ve now got the much better than Australian Kong markets also fell more averaged UCLL [unbundled about SkyCity’s controversial added that TSC would defi- could not continue. with Sky, along with others, television space and you’ve and Asian markets which than 2 per cent. World oil copper local loop] price on talks with the Government to nitely ‘‘have a presence’’ on Negotiations for a free-to- over their involvement in got the bricks and mortar took a battering after the prices also took another dive. that line. If the price goes build a $350 million national free-to-air television. air partner were ongoing production in addition to space, and essentially French election and weak US Chorus has cautioned the down, Chorus loses out and convention centre in Auck- Earlier talks between the although O’Driscoll would not providing ‘‘carriage’’ of the retailers have to adapt to employment figures. commission’s proposal could Telecom’s costs go down, so land in exchange for gambling channel’s founder, advertis- specify who was in the channel, O’Driscoll said. which channels they’re going Australia was down 2.2 per dampen demand for ultrafast that would be somewhat concessions. Fairfax NZ ing guru Greg Partington, and running, saying only that it ‘‘Millions’’ of dollars were to use.’’ Fairfax NZ cent, wiping about A$25 broadband but Communi- positive for Telecom.’’ Fairfax NZ

■ AQUACULTURE 1 2 PPricerice Salmon farm gets go-ahead Bookcase Cathie Bell public, approved the KPF In- pany’s plans for the site. Con- vestments’ application in part. sent on the 12-hectare mussel Sale Christchurch-based firm United The application was consist- farm runs to December 2024. Grey, Near New. Fisheries has been granted a ent with the aims of the The council decision says Now $75 resource consent to farm sal- council’s Marlborough Sounds Port Ligar has an established • 1800H mon at its mussel farm at Port Resource Management Plan but, aquaculture industry around • 1200H Now $50 Ligar, in Pelorus Sound. to meet environmental con- most of the coastline of the port, • 900H Now $37 The application, by subsidi- cerns, a marine survey of the comprising a total of 20 marine All 800 w x 300 d. ary KPF Investments, is the first area would be required before farms, with consent for the Until Stocks Last of several by marine farmers to salmon were introduced. A limit earliest being granted in 1981. add salmon to mussel farms. on the amount of feed – 1500 ‘‘In considering the size of topdrawer 2008 Ltd An application by Ngai Tahu tonnes a year – was imposed and existing consents granted for to add salmon to its Beatrix Bay the consent was for nine years aquaculture, a total of 104ha of OFFICE FURNITURE mussel farm will be heard by rather than the 12 asked for. coastal marine area [18 per cent 180 Durham St, Chch Marlborough District Council United Fisheries Havelock of total water space in Port on Thursday. manager Bob Nicolle said he Ligar] has been allocated.’’ off street parking Councillors David Dew, Da- had not had time to analyse the Opponents feared the appli- Phone: (03) 365 1424 vid Oddie, and Graeme Barsanti council’s decision and was un- cation would set a precedent but heard submissions in March able to say whether the con- the committee disagreed. Email: [email protected] and, in a decision just made ditions would affect the com- Fairfax NZ

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