Govt refuses sale of well-known stud

Press, 20 October 1981, Page 3

Govt refuses sale of well-known stud

PA Wellington The size of the land-hold-ing involved jn the Balcarres Stud in the Waikato was the major factor in a Govern-, ment refusal to allow the sale of the stud to Australian interests.

The chairman of the Overseas Investment Commission, Mr R. W. Stannard, said yesterday the top breeding establishment covered “a significant amount of farm land” in the productive Matamata area.

“Quite frankly, land was the nitty-gritty,” he said. The 112-hectare stud and its 80 horses was to be sold for $5 million to a group of Australian businessmen by its owner, Mr Jack Lindsay, after he had unsuccessfully offered the stud for sale locally. Many of New Zealand’s top racehorses have come from the stud, including the Melbourne Cup winner, Hyperno, the New Zealand Oaks winner, Glamour Bay, and last season’s leading three-year-old, Ring The Bell.

Mr Stannard, who reports to the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) as Minister of Finance, also consulted the Lands Department about the proposed sale.

"In the same way if there was a proposal to sell a manufacturing concern we would approach the Department of Trade and Industry,” he said.

However, he rejected Mr Lindsay’s contention that the sale had been stopped to avoid possible embarrassment to the Government in an election year; “We did not approach this thing differently because it is election year,” Mr Stannard said. “There have been other cases where we have declined the acquisition of farm land by overseas buyers.” Under the Australian proposal, the stud would have been wholly-owned outside New Zealand, contravening the normal criteria which demands New Zealanders holding most of the shares.

Balcarres was to have been bought by the Sydneybased Equine Management, Pty. Principals of the firm are Sir Clyde Kennedy (chairman), the chairman of the Sydney Turf Club, a Sydney stockbroker, Mr John Messara, and a Sydney solicitor and S.T.C. director, Mr David Kendall.

Mr Lindsay was not available for comment, but his wife said she was upset with the news that the sale had not been allowed. “All we know (officially) is from a message from our solicitor, saying the sale had been declined because it was not in New Zealand’s interests. We are completely in the dark and waiting for a reason to be given,” she said. Mrs Lindsay said she did not know what their next move would be.

• “We are ready to retire but it looks as though we will just have to keep working,” she said. Balcarres is the home of the stallions Rangong. Zephyr Bay a.id Smuggler.