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Private Land & Property Portfolio Adds Kiwifruit Orchard

Property25 September 2019PLPReal Estate

Media Release and NZX Transaction Announcement

25 September 2019


Booster’s Private Land & Property Portfolio adds Kiwifruit Orchard


Booster is adding a 20-hectare Kerikeri kiwifruit orchard to its Private Land & Property Portfolio, the sole

investment of the Private Land and Property Fund, which listed on the NZX last week. The purchase of a

kiwifruit orchard provides further geographic and crop diversification to the fund, which previously

invested mainly in viticulture.


The Private Land & Property Fund is Booster’s solution for savers struggling with low interest rates. It

aims to deliver average annual returns of 8% over a 7 year horizon. This is the Fund’s first addition in

Northland, adding to its portfolio of property exposure to land in Marlborough, Nelson and Hawkes Bay.

“Kiwifruit is New Zealand’s most successful export crop. Our fertile soils and excellent growing conditions

produce a premium crop that command high international prices. Everyday people will be able to share in

this success as investors,” said Booster Chairman Paul Foley.


The Private Land & Property Portfolio is purchasing the land from Seeka, New Zealand’s largest kiwifruit

producer, under a sale and lease back arrangement. Seeka will continue to operate the orchard and will

pay a fixed rental to the fund under a long-term arrangement, while preserving the option for the fund to

assume earlier operatorship once the orchard is mature. Fully committed to Northland, Seeka recently

bought a Kerikeri packhouse operation and built a bigger, improved facility. The Booster purchase allows

Seeka to unlock capital while continuing to operate the orchard and produce high-value fruit which will

be processed through its packhouse and sold to market. The deal also allows for considerable future

growth of the orchard through conversion of a citrus block and development of currently unplanted land

included in the sale. Booster’s initial investment is $15.5m and is expected to rise to a total of $22m with

further planting of gold kiwifruit planned for next year and a potential further payment in 5 years based

on orchard production (of up to approximately $1 million).


Seeka recently converted green fruit into gold kiwifruit on the hectares sold to Booster. Its smooth-

skinned, sweet SunGold variety commands premium prices in export and domestic markets, particularly

in Asia. Kiwifruit marketer Zespri returned $1.8 billion to New Zealand kiwifruit growers for their 2018

crop and plans to grow global sales to $4.5 billion by 2025.


“Diversification across regions and crops reduces the fund’s exposure to climate, pests and other risks.

The fund provides another choice for New Zealanders who need a wide range of investment options to

support their individual financial goals, whatever their stage of life,” says Foley. “We don’t think New

Zealanders should put all their eggs in one basket. High returns often come with higher risks, so it is a

good idea for investors to diversify their portfolios.


Settlement of the transaction is expected to occur on 30 September 2019 and will be funded by a portion

of bank facilities (in line with the fund’s borrowing policies) and newly subscribed units in the Private Land

and Property Fund. Booster has received applications from its KiwiSaver and other investment funds that

are sufficient to meet the fund’s equity requirements for this purchase but opportunities exist for

investors to subscribe for units in the fund as part of the monthly process described in the Product

Disclosure Statement (PDS) for the fund that is available at www.booster.co.nz

ENDS

For further information

Toni Nealie

Acumen Republic for Booster

T: +64 21 231 3828

E: tnealie@acumenrepublic.com



About Booster

Booster (www.booster.co.nz) is one of the nine government-appointed default KiwiSaver scheme providers

with more than $3 billion currently under management on behalf of over 120,000 investors across

KiwiSaver, Superannuation and Investment Schemes. Some of the funds available from Booster invest in

Booster Tahi and Booster PLPF. Investors in those funds get part of their money invested in the assets

owned by Booster Tahi and Booster PLPF.

Data sourced from publicly available filings. Our datasets may not be complete. Automated analysis can produce errors. If you believe any data on this page is incorrect, please contact us at hello@nzxplorer.co.nz. For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.

Other issuers discussed similar conditions around this time

Matched by meaning across NZX announcement text, not keywords — based on our semantic index of announcement bodies.

  • SEK — Seeka Limited: Seeka sells Northland orchard to Booster’s PLPP
    2019-09-25

    Date: 26 September 2019 Seeka sells Northland orchard to Booster’s PLPP Seeka Limited [NZX:SEK] has entered into an agreement to sell a 20 canopy hectare Kerikeri SunGold kiwifruit orchard to Booster’s listed Private Land & Property Portfolio [“PLPP”], which is the sole inves…”