Carey Smith and Ray White NZ featured on TVNZ Breakfast , Newstalk ZB and NBR NZ Property Investor. The stories were also syndicated widely to other media.

Nadine Chalmers-Ross (TVNZ business and breakfast reporter) interviewed Carey about where the Real Estate is at currently including trends for buyers and sellers, stock levels and “time on market.”

October 2012 has proved the strongest month in the real estate market since the global financial crisis, at least for one major real estate group.

Figures collected today show the Ray White Group recorded sales up 29 per cent on October last year and matched the turnover high unseen since March 2007: $500 million.

The network of 135 offices finalised 1,216 sales, 21 per cent more than the previous month and the greatest number of transactions since November 2007.

The Auckland market in particular has shown a considerable increase, with double the sales recorded in 2012 against the same period in 2011.

Minnie Baragwanath was interviewed by Nadine Chalmers Ross on TVNZ Breakfast on 29th August .

Would you believe that there is a business model for this? The “access challenged” market across the world is huge and growing and looking to be loyal to a group of businesses just like “the greenies”. There is a value to this segment just as we know the value of the “Green” Dollar and the “Pink” Dollar . The Be. Institute is interested in positioning New Zealand as the access capital of the world. Judging from numbers out of Australia, there are economic benefits to a positioning like this. But more than this, Be. Accessable is interested in and actively living by example, and creating meaningful societal change that will result in a more accessible world.

The full interview can be viewed at this link

Campaign Overview

In February 2012, the NZ Pops Orchestra was launched at Morton Estate House. The orchestra is the first of its kind in New Zealand, and has garnered the support of musical entrepreneur  Gray Bartlett as Patron and Gina Sanders who is involved both behind the scenes and centre stage as a soloist. Will Martin will be headlining the first concert on March 18. Rising star Toni Gibson will also be performing at the March event.

Modelled on internationally renowned groups such as Andre Rieu’s Johann Strauss Orchestra (his Auckland concerts sell out), Boston Pops Orchestra and Queensland Pops Orchestra, the NZPO is this country’s first dedicated pops orchestra.

Results

As a new organisation, the NZ Pops Orchestra had its work cut out against other established musical groups. Gina Sanders was interviewed by Eva Radich for Radio New Zealand Concert and Will Martin was interviewed on the Coast network. Grown Ups, a popular website for the 50+ age group, ran a give-away promotion for double passes to the March 18 concert as well as a story about the NZ Pops Orchestra. Major television network TV 3  News also picked up the NZ Pops story ahead of the first inaugural concert. Toni Gibson was interviewed and quirky clips of her singing in the bathroom at home were included in the story The news clip can be seen here.  The story also appeared on the TV 3 News website and was uploaded to popular news website Scoop.

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.

Don Jaine,  Seqel Partners discusses succession planning and the new three Bs in the December edition of New Zealand Management, the leaders magazine.

An extract below. Read more in the New Zealand Management Magazine:

“Lately our executive search company SEQEL Partners has been working with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise on how to solve the succession problem for business owners, an issue that has occupied my colleagues and business acquaintances for a number of years. Of particular urgency is the matter of the lack of leaders to succeed baby boomers in the New Zealand market.

In observing the market, it’s obvious that the famous line about business owners wanting ‘the boat, the bach and the BMW’ is outdated. The new, post-GFC paradigm is ‘bought, burned or buried’. That is, owners sitting around waiting for a buyer with a fat cheque are out of luck. Rather, their options in the new environment are the following:

• Bought – For the very good businesses (<10% of the market) that are always positioned as ready for sale, there will be opportunities for them to be sold to competitor organisations in the same sector. The private-equity-backed businesses and the effective business leaders who are prepared to invest in acquisitions and market consolidations are likely to be in acquisition mode over the next three to five years. However, they will be acquiring businesses for much lower earnings multiples than were prevalent in the mid-2000s, pre-GFC. The PEs that were paid in that period were fuelled by cheap access to large levels of debt, which is now no longer available.

• Burned – In our observation, most business owners are going to get ‘burned off’ by businesses that are well advised, probably involve private equity, and have smart, independent board members and very effective executive teams. These businesses will burn off a large number of participants in each market sector by simply being better led, better managed, more agile, and more effective and active users of technology – GPS, CRM systems, successful eCommerce and more. Many business owners of medium-sized organisations which are smaller participants in their sector will be burned off by more effective operators.

• Buried – Many businesses will die with the owner, leaving their families very little financial legacy, and a broken or broke business – and potentially a load of issues to resolve. While it might seem a sensible idea to potentially wind a business down by not investing and failing to grow in favour of the immediate return of a comfortable lifestyle, our opinion is that the upshot is in fact an uncomfortable one for the dependents of a business.

The Palms Celebrates Christmas With the  12 hours of Christmas Event

Featured on TV3 6PM news – spectacular floats, popular characters and a buzz of Christmas cheer ushered in the 2011 Christchurch Santa Parade, and put smiles on thousands of children’s faces. The parade at 2pm on Sunday 4 December l marked the events 64th year. While taking a different route, the parade was equally as thrilling, as a quarter of Christchurch’s population  lined the streets and share in the festivities.

The events of the past 12 months have meant several changes in and around Christchurch, including the famous CBD route of the Santa Parade. With funding harder to find this year, The Palms came on board to ensure this iconic event is still on the calendar for 2011.

The Palms shopping centre manager, Keryn Ward, is thrilled the parade is still going ahead this year and proud to be collaborating with other Christchurch businesses to sponsor this year’s Santa Parade.

“We are very happy to be able to support the parade and ensure the children in our community still have this exciting event to look forward to. The Santa Parade has become an iconic family event in Christchurch that is a great way to welcome in the Christmas season,” she says.

The Palms’ Beach Hut themed float was a magnificent sight, complete with palm trees.

Following the fun and festivities of the Santa Parade, The Palms  will host a special ’12 Hours of Christmas’ shopping event, on Thursday 8 December. All those who make a purchase of $50 or more on the day could enter to win a family holiday to the Gold Coast. The winner will be announced by a live draw in-centre at 9pm that evening. The winner must be present to claim their prize.

The ’12 Hours of Christmas’ day promises to be an event for all of the family with live music, entertainment and exclusive discounts throughout the centre so shoppers can get a head start and enjoy their Christmas shopping experience.

Keryn Ward says, “It has been a challenging year for the people of Christchurch and The Palms, so we want to give our community a special treat while shopping this Christmas. The ’12 Hours of Christmas’ day will be a fun way for the community to do their Christmas shopping.”

There will be complimentary wine, food tastings, live music and plenty of festive cheer.

For more information about the ’12 Hours of Christmas’ day and other Christmas events at The Palms, check the website: www.thepalms.co.nz. Also, for more information on the Christchurch Santa Parade, check the website: www.christchurchsantaparade.co.nz.

ends

For further information:
Alexander Communications
Laura Burns
021 259 3242
laura@alexandercomms.co.nz

About The Palms
The Palms Shopping Centre in Shirley (four kilometres from the Christchurch CBD), is an asset in the AMP Capital Shopping Centre Fund (ASCF). The Fund has 11 properties under management with a total fund size of over AU$2 billion.

Youdrive chief executive, Kevin Wall spoke with Toni Street from TVOne’s Breakfast team about the Youdrive programme and what it’s offering young New Zealanders.

Youdrive is a secondary-school based, driver training programme that aims to improve road safety by developing higher order skills and knowledge in young drivers. With 15-24 year olds heavily over represented in New Zealand road accident statistics and a large number of secondary students leaving school without any form of drivers’ license, Kevin Wall saw an opportunity to work with schools to develop a programme that would deliver positive outcomes.

Edgewater College is the first school in New Zealand to offer Youdrive as part of their education curriculum. The programme is delivered on site at the school and is NZQA approved, which means students can achieve credits towards their NCEA level standard.

Click here to watch the full interview, or visit the Youdrive website to learn more about the programme.

What you might call the ‘forgotten best friends’ of Christchurch got a much needed earthquake recovery cheque today as seen on TV3 6PM news.

Tens of thousands of dollars have been given to Dog Watch to help it re-home abandoned earthquake pets.

One Labrador-Staffordshire cross called Chance was left abandoned and unwanted in February.

One hundred and fifty condemned dogs have been rescued from the pound by Dog Watch so far this year, double the normal number.

“We are struggling to the point that there are so many dogs out there that need help, we don’t have the space, we cannot take them,” says Dog Watch manager Pam Howard.

Keith Surgenor is helping out, adopting one dog, Lea.

“She has been abandoned and we don’t even know what she is really, but she is beautiful and she will go to a good home, and I’ll get a lot of pleasure out of her,” he says.

Also helping out is a nearby shopping mall, surprising Pam Howard with a cheque for $50,000.

“There are amazing stories of people out there who have been hurt by the earthquake, so we are really thrilled to be part of this and to be able to make a difference and help them,” says The Palms Shopping Centre manager Keryn Ward.

At nearby Freeville School there were more giveaways, free puffer jackets for the 300 pupils.

“On a day like today where we have got minus three degrees start to the day they certainly need them,” says principal John Leonard.

Fifteen thousand dollars raised in Sydney is helping the children out with the Macpac gifts.

The gift of giving and receiving is appreciated by everyone in Christchurch.

Thanks to Hamish Clark and TV3 News

At a time when the nation’s attention is focused on recreating the built environment of our second-largest city, a new enterprise is launching with two significant and potentially contributory new initiatives: New Zealand’s first nationwide accessibility programme, Be. Accessible, and the first nationwide disability leadership programme of its kind, Be. Leadership.

At its launch event at the Auckland War Memorial Museum on Friday 6 May, Be. Institute will formally present the two programmes and outline the vision for what the institute, through its initiatives and partnerships, can do to foster accessibility and enable a 100% accessible society for all New Zealanders.

The mission is social change: to improve the accessibility of the physical environment, enable better access to information, promote the inclusion and leadership of disabled people in employment and the community, and change social attitudes and behaviours.

In many respects, the timing of the launch is optimal. One Be. Institute project, the Be. Test Match, will be rolled out through the Be. Accreditation programme (part of Be. Accessible) to the 12 New Zealand cities hosting Rugby World Cup 2011.

In the first phase, the Be. Assessors will visit key locations in each of the 12 cities and assess stadia, fan zones, i-SITES and other relevant locations such as hotels.

However, the organization’s aims for its programmes reach beyond this sporting event. By the end of May, Be. Accessible will have trained 40 Be. Assessors, who will be equipped with the tools and know-how to perform holistic assessments of the aforementioned sites, and thousands of others over time.

They will be able to cover the whole accessibility journey, asking questions like: how accessible is the organisation’s website?; what is the level of customer service?; how accessible is the building entrance, interior and products?; and are the business / organization’s marketing materials accessible to all people?

Be. Institute is led by chief executive Minnie Baragwanath, who before founding Be. Institute worked for 10 years in the disability sector, advising to the former Auckland City Council. She has brought together the Auckland Council, the Auckland University of Technology and the Auckland District Health Board to be founding partners of the Be. Institute.

Since it was formed in early 2011, Be. Institute has developed a working partnership with the Ministry of Social Development, and MP Tariana Turia will be attending the launch event, along with 200 other VIPs and contributors.

Ms Baragwanath says, “In launching the Be. Institute we are mindful of the importance of recognizing what is already being done. We have made great progress as a nation – however, there is more we need to do to create a 100% accessible country. New Zealanders are by nature inclusive and socially aware, and we are seeking to build on this through specific practices in our two programmes. Our view is that if we get it right for disabled people, we get it right for all people.”

Be. Accessible involves an accreditation framework and a communications campaign to inspire and enable a 100% accessible society. Be. Leadership, the first leadership programme of its kind in New Zealand, invites 20 emerging leaders to participate in a 10-month journey to become the best leader they can be.

Any business can book an accessibility assessment from a Be. Assessor and learn how they can change their practices or structure to make their organization more accessible. They need not be affiliated with RWC 2011 to do this.

Fact Sheet

• The Be. Institute launch event:
  • Date: Friday 6 May 2011
  • Time: 7pm – 10pm
  • Venue: Auckland War Memorial Museum
  • Dress: Glamorous and authentic
• The Be. Institute was founded in 2011 through a partnership between the Auckland Council, the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and the Auckland District Health Board;
• It is a social enterprise with the purpose of inspiring and enabling accessibility through innovation and leadership;
• The problem New Zealand faces is that 20% of the population doesn’t get full access to society, and even if employment is possible, people with disabilities earn less on average that those without;
• Founding trustees of the Be. Institute include John Allen (CEO of MFAT and Chair of the Employers Disability Network) and Mark Bagshaw, and the current chief executive is Minnie Baragwanath;
• The Institute’s two initiatives are Be. Accessible and Be. Leadership, which are designed to collectively achieve 100% accessibility for all New Zealanders;
• There are three interdependent pillars – social, physical and personal – necessary for a truly accessible society;
• The Be. Institute’s philosophy is around inclusion – everyone is welcome to participate – and the principle that in order to create a world in which we can all Be., we need to think about our expectations of disabled people, and consider the value of disabled people as leaders and not just recipients of charity;
• The vision and mission of Be. – can we talk about the importance of the Be. Accessble programme.
• One of the first social change programmes to inspire business, community, govt to recognise that we all play a part in creating an accessible world;
• The Be. Institute has coined a new term – the ‘Access Customer’ – which may include any of the following:
  • An older person (the baby- boomer)
  • A parent pushing a stroller
  • Someone with a hearing or vision impairment
  • A person with a mental health impairment
  • A person who uses a wheelchair
• Launch attendee Tariana Turia is co-leader of the Maori Party and the member for Te tai Hauauru, Minister for Disability Issues and the Community and Voluntary Sectors, and Associate Minister of Social Development and Health;
• Launch attendee Rodney Hide is leader of the Act Party and the member for Epsom, Minister of Local Government and Regulatory Reform, and Associate Minister of Education;
• Between 660,000 and 730,000 people in New Zealand have a disability, and a total of 20% of Kiwis report a disability;
• Half of people 65+ have a disability, and by 2030 25% of Kiwis will be aged 65+;
• 186,340 people with a disability could be working;
• The limited accessibility for people with a disability means that 20% of Kiwis are excluded from fully participating in everyday activities;
• With improved accessibility, businesses could increase by 20% more customers;
• Sign Language is the third official language of New Zealand;
• The welfare cost is $2.1 billion per annum and the opportunity cost an estimated $11.7 billion per annum;
• El Du Pont de Nemours & Co conducted a study of 1,000 workers with disabilities, with results showing:
  • 81% of workers with disabilities rated better than average in job performance;
  • 86% of workers with disabilities rated above average in attendance;
  • 98% of workers with disabilities rated average or better than average in safety with;
  • No increase in compensation costs.

Sources:

Statistics New Zealand, 2006
Office for Disability, 2008

Be.ready – The toolkit for business
Innov8 Consulting Group Disability Statistics Chart

For further information:

Dwayne Alexander

Alexander Communications

+64 (0)21 324463

dwayne@alexandercomms.co.nz

UK e-newsletter “Trendwatching” have featured Botany Town Centre in their March 2011 edition.

The e-newsletter dedicated their March copy to the rising phenomenon of “Random Acts of Kindness” – selfless acts performed by an individual or company wishing to either assist or cheer up another individual.

Botany Town Centre’s “Snapped” campaign – where shoppers could win what they were photographed holding – was acknowledged in the e-newsletter as a successful and effective example of a Random Act of Kindness.

Click here to read the full article.