Newton King to form holding company

Press, 24 May 1977, Page 23

Newton King to form holding company

PA Wellington The directors of Newton King, Ltd, will seek the approval of shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting on June 30 to form a holding company for the group to be known as 'Crown Consolidated, Ltd. The company will work from Wellington, and the present executive staff of Newton King’s head office in Wellington would become Crown Consolidated’s management team. i The proposed new company would have an authorised capital of $1 P M, compared with Newton King’s present S7M, and would act as the controlling company of six major subsidiaries. Newton King, Ltd, would continue to trade in Taranaki, Wanganui and Manawatu. The other five companies are Gisborne Sheepfarmers Mercantile Company, Ltd, De Pelichet, McLeod and Company, Ltd, Rod Weir and Company, Ltd, Kowhai Meats, Ltd, and Crown Finance, N.Z., Ltd. According to the manag-ing-director of Newton King,

'Ltd, (Mr R. B. Weir) these six companies would run with almost the same autonomy as they have at present — being responsible to their local boards of directors, who in turn would be responsible to the board of Crown Consolidated. In conjunction with this major re-organisation, the directors will be seeking ap-j proval to increase the capital by an issue of SI.SM of convertible specified ence shares, which will raise the paid capital of the company to $4.6M. Mr Weir said the forma- j tion of Crown Consolidated, Ltd, made sound financial sense.

“Our group is becoming more and more diversified, and we are certainly no 'longer the small rural-based stock and station company as many people tend to think,” he said. The mercantile activities of Gisborne Sheepfarmers in Poverty Bay, De Pelichet, McLeod in Hawkes Bay, G. H. Perry and Company in i the Wairarapa and Rod Weir and Company in the Horojwhenua, Manawatu and Wellington have been major ■profit earners for the group, i “Now that we are devel-

oping meat processing facilities through Kowhai Meats, financial activities through Crown Finance and have a growing export division, it has become necessary to introduce some major changes to the structure of the parent company to accommodate these, said Mr Weir. “If the directors’ proposals are accepted by the shareholders we would in future be listed on the stock exchange as Crown Consolidated, Ltd, but as far as clients and staff are concerned they would continue either to be served or work for the same company as they have always done. “In recent years the group has made strong efforts to develop its export division. As a result of visits by company executives to the Middle East, the Pacific area, Australia, United Kingdom and the U.S.S.R., good markets have been developed,” he said. Currently the group is exporting meat and processed goods to 28 countries mainly in North America, the South Pacific, Bahamas and Asia and future prospects “are exciting.” are being

: I finalised to form a joint! company with one of the largest and oldest com-: Jmodity companies in the: 'United Kingdom and full; details of this new company! (will be announced in the ! near future,” he said. ‘‘Group turnover for the financial year which ends! ■next month would exceed! • SI4OM. I ‘‘During this period we| .will have handled more than: 11.2 M sheep, 180,000 cattle! land 77,000 bales of wool.! I The motor division will have! jsold 2400 vehicles and S3OM; !worth of merchandise and(farm produce will have beenj ,;sold through our stores. | “We will also have negotiated sales of 1100 properi ties, and our export facilities at Feilding will have processed over 8000 cattle.” ! Advances in the rural ’ (financing field are in excess! lof SUM, and the subsidiary! (Crown Finance now has re-' ceivables of nearly S3M, he! said.