Land Sales Court Refuses To Sanction Deal

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 March 1947, Page 2

Land Sales Court Refuses To Sanction Deal

New Zealand Breweries and Bruce Hotel Sale (P.A.) CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. Holding that New Zealand Breweries already possessed sufficient; land and sufficient hotels for its business and that in the absence of special circumstances its acquisition of further hotels must therefore be deemect undue aggregation, the Land Sales Appeal Court in a reserved judgment to-day refused approval to the company’s purchase of the Bruce Hotel, Akaroa, from Mrs. R. H. Burland for £5,500. The judgment was delivered by Mr. Justice Archer, with whom were associated Messrs W. Stewart and W. E. Scott. Mr. D. E. Wanklyn appeared for New Zealand Breweries Ltd., and Mr. S. T. Barnett (Wellington) for the Crown. “The Court does not question the motives and qualifications of New Zealand Breweries Ltd.,” says the judgment, “and does not propose to embark upon consideration of the merits and demerits of hotel ownership by brewery companies. The company has shown no special circumstances affecting this particular hotel and the real issue is whether companies such as New Zealand Breweries are entitled to increase their holdings of hotel properties without restraint. ■ “No Exceptions” “Under the Land Sales Act we have previously made occasion to point out that the Act makes no exceptions in favour of corporations, and we have no reason to suppose that the Legislature intended that hotel-owning companies should be exempted from the provision of the Act relating to undue aggregation. Nor do we see any reason to apply to such an application as is now before us any different principles than those already referred to and regularly applied by the Court in the case of proposed purchases of land for other business enterprises. “We are satisfied from the applications that have come before us concerning the sale of hotels that there is a substantial unsatisfied demand for hotels from prospective ownerlicensees, including discharged servicemen, and the prices commonly agreed to be paid for hotels suggest that there is no type of real property in respect of which the restraining influence of the Land Sales Act is more necessary to curb the dangers of inflationary increases in price The general considerations of public interest which have been deemed ’sufficient by the Legislature to justify restriction in the right to aggregate land seem to us to apply with full force to the ownership of hotels. In view of the terms of the Act it is not necessary for the Crown to prove that undue aggregation is contrary to the public interest. The Act presupposes that such is the case and must be presumed to include within its ambit undue aggregation of hotels. Reasonable Requirements “We are of the opinion that New Zealand Breweries Ltd., already possesses sufficient land and sufficient hotels for its own use and for the reasonable requirements of its business, and, in the absence of special circumstances, its acquisition of further hotels must therefore be deemed undue aggregation. Where the admitted facts disclose a prima facie case of undue aggregation the onus of proof of such special circumstances is upon the party alleging same. We hold that New Zealand Breweries Ltd. has failed to satisfy us that special circumstances exist by reason of which it is justified in. seeking to acquire the Bruce Hotel, in addition to its present substantial and sufficient holdings in hotel properties, and that the application must,' therefore, be refused.

“It has been suggested that a number of similar applications are dependent upon the determination of this appeal. Each such application must be dealt with on its merits. It would be improper for us to make a general pronouncement which might appear to prejudice the merits of any application. It should be made clear, however, that in its consideration of this application the court has had regard only to general principles, and has not found it necessary to enquire into the relative merits of New Zealand Breweries Ltd. as an owner of hotels.”