Positive share price movement after announcement . In the New Zealand Herald , Stuff.co.nz, Sharechat and other major business media : Federal Pacific Group, a financial services group with ties to Ireland’s Fexco, has taken a cornerstone stake in GFNZ Group, formerly known as Geneva Finance, and arranged new funding lines for the vehicle lender.

The Herald quotes that ” The lender has been one of the more successful financiers to survive the sector’s collapse, and has repaid $121 million of debt and interest to investors.” Also see the approved release on the share and debt placement with the new cornerstone investor.

Kerryn Downey and William Black of McGrathNicol, as receivers of the SCF Group are pleased to announce that a conditional agreement has been entered into for the sale of the business and assets of its wholly owned investment company Helicopters (N.Z.) Limited (“HNZ”), to international helicopter operator Canadian Helicopters Limited (“CHL”).

HNZ is a leading provider of helicopter services and operates in New Zealand, Australia, South East Asia and Antarctica. HNZ was founded in 1955 with one helicopter and has grown significantly, now operating a fleet of 37 helicopters.

CHL is the largest helicopter transportation services company operating in Canada and is also one of the largest in the world based on the size of its fleet. With over 35 base locations across Canada, CHL provides helicopter services to a broad range of sectors, including infrastructure maintenance, utilities, oil and gas, mining, forestry, construction and emergency medical services and provides military support. With over 60 years of experience, CHL is an industry leader in establishing safety standards and operating procedures. CHL is a public corporation trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).

CHL was selected through a competitive sale process that commenced following HNZ’s shareholder, SCF, being placed into receivership in late August 2010. The sale price is approximately NZ$160 million. The sale is subject to a number of conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to complete in the coming months.

Kerryn Downey commented “This announcement is the culmination of a significant amount of work by the company and our advisors. This has been a very robust process and we are very pleased to have identified such a credible purchaser and achieved what we believe is a good price for the business”.

“Helicopters New Zealand has grown from a local NZ based company to an internationally respected operator involved in all aspects of helicopter operations. We welcome the opportunity to continue to maintain our high level of quality services and continue to grow and enhance our business for all stakeholders, including our clients and staff in the future with Canadian Helicopters” said HNZ’s CEO Brian McDonald.

“We are very pleased with the acquisition of HNZ”, said Don Wall, President and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Helicopters. “HNZ has excellent people and a very strong brand particularly with respect to safe operations, and will be a significant part of CHL’s growth plan as we look to the future. Like CHL, HNZ operates in challenging environments and positions itself as providing “excellence in the extremes”. We look forward to supporting the employees in New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere in the region in continuing to provide “best in class” service.”

Goldman Sachs & Partners New Zealand Limited acted as financial advisor to the receivers of the SCF Group.
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For media enquiries: Kate Alexander, Alexander Communications 09 524 4957 / 027 244 6094

Upstart fund manager Mike Taylor speaks with Sunday Star Times Rob Stock three years on from the inception of Pie Funds; the boutique fund management business he launched in 2007.  

He also spoke with Niko Kloeten from the National Business Review and revealed he had written an opinion piece exclusively for the NBR called “A greying economy: how the investment landscape will look in 2050”.  To read this subscriber only content please logon at www.nbr.co.nz

Pie Funds founder Mike Taylor speaks with the NZ Herald about why he believes small-cap stocks offer the best return recovery and says Australia is where the action will happen.

He believes small companies have more leverage and says in Australia there is more focus on getting listed.

A new multimillion dollar facility was officially launched on July 10th 2009 to leverage operational synergies and meet anticipated growth for DHL, the worlds leading logistics company following 20% company growth in past two years for the company.

The building will enable further increases increase in productivity and processing-time improvements of at least 10%

The “green building” was launched officially in  Auckland on the 10 July 2009. and represents a fresh investment of US$8.8 million (NZ$14M) in New Zealand. The investment goes towards a new 11,600sqm (125,000 sq ft) state-of-the-art building in Westney Industry Park, adjacent to the Auckland International Airport.

The new DHL Global Forwarding office and warehouse facility will support anticipated business growth and offer enhanced logistics solutions to customers from all industry sectors. Auckland Mayor Hon John Banks, who spoke at the official media launch of the new building, and said, “Fourteen million dollars is a significant investment in the city’s infrastructure at a time when it is particularly needed. A major multinational company making a long-term investment in the areas of infrastructure, transport and logistics sends a positive signal to business as we work to strengthen the economy.”

“We have seen our business in New Zealand grow 20% over the past two years with the life science pharmaceutical, industrial and FMCG sectors as primarily sectors of growth. In this current economic climate, businesses are looking to improve logistics efficiencies and stay competitive. We see tremendous opportunity ahead and this investment reinforces our commitment to New Zealand,” said Amadou Diallo, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding South Asia Pacific.

“The new premises will provide for business growth and improved process capabilities will enhance productivity by over 10%. By combining our Auckland operational sites into one purpose-built facility, our ocean freight service is able to use the site for the unpacking of ocean freight containers, providing delivery improvements to customers of at least half a day,” said Tony Boll, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding South Pacific. A specific area of significant expansion over the past 18 months has been the Door to More service, an assembly service, piloted in New Zealand. The service consolidates multiple vendor shipments to a single shipment for the international movement and local customs clearance. This consolidated shipment is then broken down to individual deliveries to multiple customers (retail or domestic).

DHL Global Forwarding New Zealand, Managing Director, Brian Broom said,” Since the introduction of the Door to More service in New Zealand, we have seen significant take-up of this service to and from Australia, New Zealand’s largest trading partner. The success of this service has been evident in measurable growth in the pharmaceutical, industrial and FMCG sectors in particular.” The new DHL Global Forwarding facility and office will meet increasingly complex customer requirements.

The new facility has increased office space and greater warehousing capacity, specifically: • Office space of 2,864 sqm (30,850 sq ft) over two levels; o The design of office space and selection of equipment in consultation with a doctor of ergonomics; all staff members share the same open-plan space; • Warehousing space of 4,941 sqm (53,200 sq ft); o This space includes more bulk areas than in previous premises, supporting the company’s ‘virtual warehouse’ offering extended to customers through the Door to More product; • Building canopies for goods acceptance/dispatch of 3,391 sqm (36,500 sq ft); o The full weather-proof canopies ensure DHL Global Forwarding can protect the integrity of customers’ product as it is moved to and from warehousing; enhanced security features include electric fencing, CCTV, and a security house for entry/exit control; • Chiller/freezer/transit storage of 182 sqm (2000 sq ft); o This supports the life science segment of the DHL Global Forwarding business, by ensuring perishable products are stored at the required temperature – this new capacity has enabled the company to explore new opportunities in this market segment; • Transit depot of 91 sqm (1000 sq ft); o A stand alone warehouse to provide segregation or products when required, and short-term storage from the main facility. The new building is designed to maximize the efficiency of business operations and the work environment, with the architecture aligned with principles of the New Zealand Green Building Council’s ‘4 Star Green Star’ rating : the building includes advanced green features relating to indoor environmental quality measures, energy measures and emissions and pollution control. -

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Media Contact:

Alexander Communications Stephanie Jones Tel: +64 (0)9 522 5542 Email: stephanie@alexandercomms.co.nz

DHL Asia Pacific Anita Gupta Tel: +65 6216 6290 Fax: +65 6216 6603 Email: APCorporateCommunications@dhl.com

DHL – The Logistics company for the world DHL is the global market leader in the logistics industry and ‘the Logistics company for the world.’ DHL commits its expertise in international express, air and ocean freight, road and rail transportation, contract logistics and international mail services. A global network composed of more than 220 countries and territories and 310,000 employees worldwide offers customers superior service quality and local knowledge to satisfy their supply chain requirements. DHL accepts its social responsibility by supporting climate protection, disaster management and education. DHL is part of Deutsche Post DHL. The Group generated revenue of more than 54 billion Euros in 2008.