Aust. investors wooed

Press, 4 April 1989, Page 37

Aust. investors wooed

Two Christchurch firms have combined resources in an attempt to persuade Australian investors to buy buildings in the central business districts of New Zealand’s three main centres. Principals of Cowdy Doig and Company, a Christchurch real estate firm, which specialises in commercial and industrial property, and Hobbs Wilkinson and Company, a Christchurch financial services group, are in Sydney to talk to investors.

An advertisement was placed in yesterday’s “Sydney Morning Herald” inviting investors to contact Mr David Hobbs, of Hobbs Wilkinson, or Mr Hamish Doig, of Cowdy Doig, in Sydney. Mr Andrew Cowdy, a director of Cowdy Doig, said yesterday that for a number of years investors in the Australian property market had enjoyed low funding costs, through low interest rates, and high yields, but the reverse was now true.

New Zealand’s interest rates were now lower than those across the Tasman, and expected to fall further, offering Australian investors good prospects in this country’s commercial property market. Contact had been made with a number of investors, including one who had up to $5O million to spend, Mr Cowdy said.