Page 3 Advertisements Column 3

Otago Daily Times, Issue 4723, 7 April 1877, Page 3

PROSPECTUS. »V PROSPECTUS GUT HE, IE AND LARNACH' p IT' NEW ZEALAND TIMBER AND WOODWARfi les FACTORIES, LIMITED. I Capital, £250,000, In 50,000 shares of £5 each ■ Deposit, payable on application, 10s per slure in- lit v.- i Allotme"t Call, 10s per share. Atter wh-ch it is proposed to call up £2 rer share i A- sums of 10s each Call, at L.tervak ,f not, lemh« ad threa months, thus extending the total paymenl over a period of one year from d*te of allotment. t 20 000 shares, fully p,i~p, are retained by Messi «Ml"-iO and Larpach {-1000 being allotted fo- the Goo flnltin, ♦'? B"smss a'"l preliminary expenses c l? a ™ I ■<■ C? m Pany> a »d the remaining 10,00 chares being fully paid up by them in c.isli). lie&? 30,000 shares are oifered to thepulj - h»' i O- 0?- 0," 1 N? w. Zealand, and Io.'OOO reserved fo > which hS f A"btraliau lnarke£s. a number o m placel J' " bes P°ken from e^h of ilios. — Provisional Directors : A. C. Strode, Esq , Dunedm AleXedin Or BUrt> £S<l'' °f M^SSrS A- and T" Burt> Dun ie £ ames. B°bin> Estl- Carriage Manufacturer, Duncdin » R°be e r d t in Sparrow- Es(l- Dumdm Iron Work*, Dun. i- «a=' Estl- • Solicitor, Dunedin. 1, v- s^ rodru.k, Shipping and Insurance Agent, Dun. 2 Wil€s^^;^Sn- u P"- Zealaildllcat Me9srs R- and T- "««*. A" S ch< a lnt"'D l u lui>i. Me:' br3Gibb3 a"d CIa *tOn> Mer" John ReiU,' E : q., Merchant, Auckland. » 7,r ,r . Valuators axd Auditors : c A. W. .Morns, Esq. ;c. H. Street, Esq.; and Edmund :- Smith, Esq. „ . . , Valuators for Vessels. Captain Tnomson, Harbour Master '' And^" M' Kinilt >». Esq., Shipbuilder, Mayor of Port _ Keith Bamsay, Esq., Shipowner. Solicitors : Messrs Sievwright and Stout I n Baxkers : The Bank of New Zealand and Branches. Brokers : Messrs ContieU and Moodie, Princes street, Dunedin J. B. Bradshaw, Esq., Princes street, Dunejin. Tin* Company is projected for the purpose of pur- • chasing and thereafter carrying on Messrs Guthrie and Larnach's well-known Woodware Factories and their extensive Importing Timber and Iron Business An agreement has been entered into with Messrs Guthrie and Larnach to sell to the Company their new Factories, together with all their oihe- buildintrs with the entire machinery, plant, and stock of even! description at the actual net cost; the whole of the freehold and leasehold lands held by the firm at pro , sent market va ue ; and their useful fleet of Coasting r Vessels, also at present actual value, the new Company taking over all current agreements and uncompleted orders or contracts. (For the purpose of these and all other valuations, the gentlemen respectively named lereafter have been appointed by mutual agreement between Messrs Guthrie and Larnach and the Provisional Directors.) It has also been arranged that the new Company shall take over the entire debts due to tlw linn secured and unsecured at par, but shall be entitled to receive on all unsecured debts interest at the rate of 8 per cent, per annum from the day when StocK is taken up to the date of actual payment, and in addition a commission for collecting of two and ahalf per cent., Messrs Guthrie and Larnach gusir". anteemg the entire amount of the unsecured debts to the Company. The prudence of this arrangement will at once be apparent, when it is remembered that the Company thus keeps in its own hands the entire connection of the retiring fi.m, and thus prevents its customers from being subjected to i possib c outside pressure • receiving, moreover, a commission f.. r the collection of debts which its own stall of officers will be able to overtake in the usual course of business, without cos' to the Company. By agreement between the Provisional Directors and Messrs Guihrie and Larnach, it has been arranged that the valuation of the freehold and leasehold lands shall be made by Messrs A. W. Morris, C. H. Street, and idmund Smith, accountants ; the valuation of vessels , cy Captain Thomson, Otago Harbour Master Keith Ram=ay, Esq., shipowner, and Andrew M'Kinnon Esq., shipbuilder, Port Chalmers; and that the net coat ot buildings, plant, mrchinery, and stock shall be ascertained from the books and vouchers of the retirinofirm by a Committee of the Provisional Directors' assisted by competent accountants and experts ' Pour thousand of the Company's shares fully paid up have been agreed to be allotted to Messrs Guthrie and Larnach, as consideration for the Goodwill of their vety remunerative business, they undertaking themselves to pay all preliminary expenses (including brokerage, advertising, &c, &c). in connection with the floating ot the Company. Stock will be taken as on the day the Company enters into possession and lie debts due to the firm will be taken over as from the same date. The timber business i 3 most extensive, and may fairly be said to be the largest in the Australasian Co'omes. In connection with this branch of the business, there are several Bush Mills, and a large fleet of coasting vessels, employed regularly in canying supplies for the requirements of the Factories as well a.9 open markets. The Import, Iron, and Hardware business of the firm is also very extensive. These several branches at present represent a most valuable and important part of the firm's trade, and the promoters feel -oufident that they can be most safely and profitably exIn the New Zealand Woodware Factories there are feur distinct departments, viz. :— Ist. Sawing, Planing, and Moulding Factory 2nd. Door and Sash Factory. 3rd. Tub and Bucket Factory. 4th. Furniture and Turnery Factory. The trade of each of these is capable of great a' d orontable extension, and as an evidence of the great outlet for the products of these works, Messrs Guthrie and Larnach have been compelled to run the machinery overtime, on an average two nights per week, since the opening of the new Factories. The whole of the extensive Factories and Stores (specially designed by David Ross, Esq., arch tect of this city) are substantially built of brick and cement on solid Milestone and concrete foundations (all timbers being of the best and most durable descriptions) covering an area, including the limber yards of several acres of valuable land in the chief streets of the city. The whole of the splendid modern machinery was designed and planned by an eminent engineering firm in Glasgow, under Mr Guthrie's immediate supervision while in Britain, and after a very careful inspection of the principal woodware factories in America Britain, and on the Continent. Each machine has been firmly placed on a solid bed of concrete where necessary, to prevent the possibility of vibration, and to avoid wear and tear. The contract for the purchase of machinery was entered into when materials and labour in Scotland were at their lowest. The important advantages to shareholders in a Joint Stock Company of entering into possession of a large manufacturing and importing business in full operation on a fixed date, with a thoroughly trained staff of officers and men and a large mercantile cornice tion. without having to wait for the erection of buildinirs, importation of plant, stock, &c, or being subjected to any of the risks and delays incidental to the starting of a new business, and with ali preliminary expenses paid, should bo at once apparent te investors. The following special advantages are worthy of notice :— Ist. The whole of the machinery in the Factories is drivon by one pair of powerful engines, worked by two men—an engineer and fireman—whose wages may fairly be said to constitute the whole expeme in connection with the motive power, as the only fuel required to keep up steam is the sawdust and shavings drawn from the different fac:oriesas soon as made by means of pneumatic tubes, end deposited in a lar^e brick safe, realy for consumption, alongside the boilers. By this means all rubbish is utilised and made a source of profit, and the cost of labour reduced to a minimum. 2nd. The four Factories being worked under one roof, a great saving is consequently effected, not only in the motive power, but also in the management, as the whole can be superintended and controlled by one manager. 3rd. The Tub and Bucket Factory, now in full operation, has a monopoly of the supply of these indispensable articles, there being no other tub and bucket factory in the Australasian Colonies. A large return may therefore be looked for to the crenit of this branch of the business. 4th. The whole of the Factories, especially the Furniture Factory, being worked in connection with the general timber business, is carried on most profitabiv, not only from the fact of the first cost of the timber being procured at the cheapest possible rate, but also that large quantities of short cuttings of timbor.which would otherwise either be sold as job lots at a lowprice, or scßt to the furuace to be consumed as fuel, are utilised. The Union Sash and Door Company in Auckland is of a simi'ar character to the New Zealand Woodware Factories, only being much less extensive. It is, however, a fair criterion to base calculations upon, as to what may be expected from the New Z-aland Woodware Factories. The Company referred to has only been in active operation lor a little over four years, and has paid annual dividends of 20 per cent., besides carrying large amounts to reserve fund; fo that, in addition to the very handsome yearly dividends, the original £5 shares of the Company are now quoted at £7 10s, and a new issue allotted to shareholders, on which £2 10s lias been paid up solely out of reserve fund, are quoted at £3 10s, making the present total market value of the original shares £11 or a premium of 320 per cent. ' In connection with this, it is a fact that the profits shown to have been made in Messrs Guth'ie and L»inacli's business for tlie same period considerably exceed that made by the Union Company in proportion to the capital invested ; so that the promoters have good reasons for believing that not only will large dividends be paid regularly by the Company, but that its stock will at once become a much-sought-after and favorable investment. Mr Guthrie has consented to be fully identified with the business for a number of years as Managing Director. Mr Gutkrie'a practical skill and long experience in the trade are well known ; the high position to which the firm has attained under his management indicates the measure of prosperity which may reasonably be expected in t.he future ; and as a proo of Mr Guthrie and his partner's fa'th in the future prospects of the concern, the}' are willing to hold oneflfth each, or equal to two-fifths of the entire capital on their own private account, purchased in fully paidI up shares. And as a fnrther proof of their confidence in he future prospects of the Company, they have de"ided to guarantee that the Company's net profits for the first three years shall not be less than 10 per cent, per annum on the actual capitil for the time being employed in the business, or equal to a sum of about £57,000 to be paid to the shareholders within throe years. They expect and believe that the profits will considerably exceed this rate, but investors will by this means know the rate of their minimum profits. By way of further securing the observance of the guarantee, the firm have agreed to deposit with tho Directors of the Company scrip of the Company during the first year of the value of £50,000, during the second year of £40,000, and during the third year of £25,000, and to execute a legal charge upon the Bame m favour cf the Company. Intending shareholders nwy therefore rest assured that no more legitimate or remunerative outlet for capital, or one presenting better or more extensive future prospects, has ever been offered in New Zealand. The reasons which have induced Messrs Guthrie and Larnach to take this step are— Ist. That their term of partnership expires by effluxion of time in the course of a few months, when it is the intention of one of the partners to retire from active business. 2nd. That the plant, machinery, and general ap-