Rich-List property developer Simon Henry is diversifying into chemical and dangerous goods storage and eyeing bank-managed mortgagee sales around New Zealand.
The owner of the South Island’s largest office building, leased to the IRD, and a host of other properties including Christchurch’s the Link Centre, says he has been happily in talks with banks.
NBR’s 2007 Rich List put Henry’s net worth at $80 million on skyrocketing commercial property values.
Henry says he is chasing quality property assets being offered by banks “in gentlemen’s mortgagee auctions”.
Henry’s latest acquisition is of the Chempro dangerous goods storage 20 to 30-staff business, a tenant on 36,000sq m of industrial land he had owned at Seaview, near Petone in Wellington since 1999.
He intends to further develop what is already one of the largest chemical and dangerous goods storage facilities in the country.
He was keen to modernise and expand the range of services the Seaview site offered, and was in negotiations with several freight distribution companies to carry out developments on the site, Henry said.
“It has a dangerous goods licence, and they’re hard to come by now and there’s the Resource Management Act and all the compliance.
“I’m not going to say it has a monopoly but it certainly has an established position in the market.”
Henry’s Rapaki Property Group is headquartered in Christchurch and has offices in Wellington and Auckland where he now lives.
Speaking from Christchurch on Friday, Henry said he had been in talks with his banks including the BNZ, and was looking at opportunities to add to his portfolio. He was happy with his financing options including the tail end of finance from South Canterbury Finance.
“I’m being offered opportunities (to buy commercial buildings) by banks up and down the country, and I’m bidding on those and looking at those all the time.”
He was looking to buy buildings with “good bones” in all three main cities given it was “a buyers market”.
His next major Christchurch project would likely be developing an area around the malthouse on the Waltham Road “malt works site”, and was seeking consents for a 150townhouse plan for building in stages from next year. “I will apply for the resource consent now and may landscape the site.
“I pick interest rates will come down this year, even if that doesn’t make much difference to the rate you pay on your mortgage it will boost the confidence of New Zealand and that’s what it needs.”
Tags: assets, banks, bnz, Business, commercial property values, compliance, confidence, dangerous goods licence, dangerous goods storage, distribution companies, freight distribution, mortgagee auctions, property developer, property group, property values, quality property, resource management act, rv, site henry, south canterbury