SALE OF HOTEL

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 57, 5 September 1945, Page 5

SALE OF HOTEL

APPEAL ABANDONED

QUESTION OF VALUATION

An appeal to. the Land Sales Committee in connection with the proposed sale of the Post Office Hotel m Wellington was abandoned, it was announced by counsel for the vendor, Mrs Miriam Winifred Kennedy widow, when the Committee met yesterday. Mr. Justice Finlay presided, and with him was Mr. W. Stewart, associate member. - Mr. W. P. Shorland appeared for the vendor and Mr. S. T. Barnett represented the Crown. The matter arose from an application for consent to the sale of the hotel by Mrs. Kennedy to Joseph Francis Aspell, hotel manager. An order was made by the Wellington Urban Land Sales Committee on July 11 consenting to the sale, subject to the consideration being reduced to £34,450. The ground of the appeal was that the decision had been erroneous in fact and in law. Mr. Shorland (for the vendor) said the decision to abandon the appeal had necessarily been a last-minute one. A considerable sum of money was at stake, he continued, as the deal involved approximately £50,000, though the Land Sales Committee had reduced the valuation to £34,450. Two valuations had been put forward by the Crown, one of £31,834, which had been rejected by the committee in favour of another of £34,360. The Crown's second valuation had been arrived at by a method of capitalisation of the net profits over a period of nine weeks' takings, which the vendor had challenged and decided to appeal against. However, counsel said he had been confined to estimates only, but during the past week'he had been given an opportunity of inspecting the Jcssee's books which had "given the true picture." After stocktaking on the final figures produced he had come to tne conclusion that his evidence must fall a little short of the £50,000 mentioned, and he had advised the vendor that that figure could not be supported. As soon as that information had been obtained he had advised the Crown. The vendor, he added, was not prepared to sell for less. His Honour: The history of the hotel shows that there has always been a difficulty in getting financial returns? Counsel: That is so. There was no objection by the Crown to the withdrawal of the appeal, said Mr. Barnett, but he asked for costs, as a thorough investigation had been undertaken by accountants in view of the proceedings. He had asked Mr. Shorland if the appeal was a serious one, and had been assured in good faith that such was the case. The Court allowed costs totalling £52 10s to the Crown. His Honour (to counsel for the vendor): It is a trade. I believe, in which pi-ofits are high. Doubtless you would have told us that if the case had gone on.