News Round Up

Car park offer just keeps getting better, New boutique fund, Mercers buy Watson Wyatt, First OM-IP fund extended

Monday, August 22nd 2005, 6:50AM

Investors in the Viaduct Carpark Proportionate Ownership Scheme are getting an interesting ride at the moment.

For years their investment, a carparking building in Auckland, had failed to perform and that prompted a number of people involved to approach St Laurence to take over running it in what has been called a rescue effort.

Several weeks ago investors received an offer that was nearly too good to be true.

Now it’s got even better. Initially Metro Parking made an unconditional offer of $12 million to buy the building. St Laurence described this as “well in excess of our initial price expectation and of the property’s current valuation.”

Now Wilson Parking has made an offer of $12.5 million. The fate of the offers and who gets the building will be decided at a special meeting on August 24.

Another boutique firm
Stephen Montgomery has left the Accident Compensation Corporation to form a funds management company focussed on high net worth individuals.

Joining him at Aspiring Asset Management are former prominent stockbrokers Murray Doyle and John Rattray. Montgomery had managed all ACC's New Zealand equities until three or four years ago when he moved to concentrate on smaller companies, which make up about 30% of the portfolio.

Mercer buys Watson Wyatt
Mercer Human Resource Consulting is to acquire Watson Wyatt New Zealand.

“The acquisition is an excellent fit for our business and is consistent with Mercer’s global growth strategy,” Mercer Human Resources chief executive and president Brian Storms says.

Mercer provides consulting advice on financial and retirement security for employees, health, productivity and employment relationships.”

Mercer say the deal provides an opportunity to continue to grow its business in the New Zealand market and leverage its scale.

First OM IP fund extended
The first of the Man Investment capital protected funds (formerly known as OM IP) has matured and now been extended to 2015. The original fund was established in August 1997.

The extended fund has a new capital guarantee from Westpac, and it will invest in the AHL Diversified Program and the Greenwood Multi-Strategy Program.

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