Chase on again for London

Press, 31 January 1989, Page 23

Chase on again for London

PA Wellington Chase Corporation is planning to re-enter the London property market. After the sharemarket crash, Chase sold its 60 per cent stake in London property investment vehicle, Chase Property Holding, Pic, as part of a whirlwind rationalisation programme. “We plan to start from scratch again (in the United Kingdom),” Chase’s corporate relations manager, Ms Meridith Hellicar, said yesterday. "Our U.K. activities, which were largely property development, were fouled postOctober 1987. They were doing well but the decision was made that if we had to pullback it was best to do it there, even though it was disappointing to have to sell.” But Chase now planned to re-establish a London office by the middle of the year, she said. Chase director Mr Adrian Burr, will go to London to research business opportunities there and undertake a number of "special projects” for the company. Ms Hellicar admitted that with the recent bad press for New Zealand companies in Britain, notably Equiticorp International’s liquidation and the hostile takeover offer by Goodman Fielder Wattle for Ranks Hovis McDouglall,

New Zealanders were not flavour of the month in the City. “Because of Equiticorp we will have perceptual problems and to a certain extent I can understand that,” she said. “But there are considerable differences between our companies. “We took the hard decisions after the crash and shaped up as a company. "The thing is that we will only have perceptual problems — rather than real problems. After the crash Chase acted quickly to strengthen its balance sheet, selling a number of property-related subsidiaries, she said. As well as the sale of Chase Property, the company sold its 50 per cent share in Amalgamated Theatres to Hoyts Group of Australia, 20 per cent of Troy Corporation to directors of that company, 18 per cent of Landmark Corporation to Mr Oily Newland, 54 per cent of Omnicorp Investments to a Swiss company, Omni Holdings, and 38 per cent of Aurora Group to Equiticorp Holdings. The Aurora sale was settled a year ago. Ms Hellicar said that while no further restructuring in New Zealand was imminent, Chase would rationalise further if necessary.