News Round Up

Monday, September 26th 2005, 6:20AM

Fidelity Life has reported a record $7.4 million profit for the year to 30 June, up 43% on the $5.1 million record reported last year.

Total assets grew 28% to $254 million, and the company’s sustained growth is also reflected in a 15% increase in premiums in force to $76 million. New business sales grew 12%.

Chief executive Milton Jennings attributes the company’s success to the strong investment returns, together with good margins on risk business being generated. Growth has occurred because of the launch of some unique and innovative products to the market and the increased awareness of Fidelity Life as a stable and reliable insurer in the industry.

Its New Zealand base enables it to bring products to the market quicker and at a lower cost than competitors.

“Our recent acquisition of Lumley Life in September 2004 has also assisted in the growth” he says.

Carpark deal nearly done
Investors in the Viaduct Carpark Proportionate Ownership Scheme have voted in favour of the resolutions to authorise the Manager to accept the best offer on the Viaduct Carpark property above $12.0 million plus GST. A sale is expected to be completed by the end of this week.

Trustees Executors helps new funds start
Trustees Executors has announced success in offering a turnkey managed funds solution to both new and existing fund manager clients.

It says it can provide the full range of back office services to clients, including custody, registry, unit pricing and fund accounting, as well as acting as trustee of the managed funds products. In addition, it offers industry standard Trust Deed and Offer documentation.

Offering a bundled solution like this “lowers the barriers of entry for new entrants to funds management” Trustees Executors managing director Glenn Clark says. The company expects more funds will come to market once proposed tax changes come into effect.

St Laurence sells resthomes
St Laurence Property & Finance has entered into a conditional agreement to sell all of its interest in Elrond Group Holdings for about $16.5 million. The book value of the investment as at 31 March 2005 was $4.50 million.

The purchaser is Qualcare Holdings, a company owned by Elrond’s majority shareholder, Greg Tomlinson, and Ironbridge Capital, an Australasian private equity fund manager.

Elrond owns seven retirement village sites, including aged-care facilities, in the upper North Island.

SLPF is an active property investor and specialist provider of property based debt and equity financing. “The proceeds from the sale of Elrond will be applied by the company to further investment and financing opportunities, with a number currently under consideration,” chief executive John Mallon says.

Quarter of a billion raised
$266 million raised in first half of 2005 by NZ’s venture capital and private equity industry New Zealand’s venture capital and private equity industry has raised $266 million in new capital for the first half of 2005, well up on the $87 million raised for the same period last year, according the latest New Zealand Venture Capital Monitor results.

“The significant amount of new capital raised reflects the growing awareness of the investment opportunities which exist in New Zealand. With $741 million notionally available for investment, the outlook for the second half of this year is good – we should see more capital flowing into the market,” Ernst & Young director and New Zealand Venture Capital Association council member Jon Hooper says.

The average deal size over the six-month period was just over $1 million compared to $3.23 million last year. More than half the investments by value and 64% by number were seed or early stage venture capital investments, totalling $15.3 million.

In line with global trends, health/biosciences was the leading sector, accounting for 26% of total value and 24% of total deals, followed by the technology and communication sectors.

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