APPROVAL REFUSED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26413, 18 March 1947, Page 4

APPROVAL REFUSED

PURCHASE OF HOTEL “ UNDUE AGGREGATION ” DECISION or I AND SALES COURT P.A. CHRISTCHURCH, Mar. ,7. Holding that New Zealand Breweries already possessed sufficient sufficient hotels for its business* and that, in the absence of special Circumstances, its acquisition of further hotels must, therefore, be deemed an undue aggregation, the Land Sales Appeal Court in a reserved judgment to-day refused approval of the company's purchase of the Bruce Hotel. Akaroa. from Mrs R. H. Burland for £5500.' The judgment was delivered by Mr Justice Archer, with whom were associated Mr W. Stewart and Mr.W. E. Scott. Mr D. E. Wanklyn appeared for New Zealand Breweries. Ltd., and Mr S. T. Barnett for the Crown. “The court does not question the motives and qualifications of New Zealand Breweries. Ltd.,” the judgment says, “ and does not propose to embark upon a 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 ho'el properties without restraint under the Land Sales Act. y No Exemption from Act “We have previously had 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 hotelowning companies should be exempted from the provisions 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 from 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 before us concerning the sale of hotels,” the court sjys, “ that there is a substantial unsatisfied demand for hotels from prospective owner-licensees, 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-neces-sary 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 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 nresumed to include within it« ambit the undtr* aggregation of hotels. Present Requirements Met

“We are of the opinion that New Zealand Breweries. Ltd., alreadv pos-. sesses sufficient land and sufficien.* hotels for its own use and for th* reasonable requirements of its business end in the-absence of special circumstances its acauisition of further hotel* must, therefore, be deemed undue nepredation. Where the admitted fact* disclo c e a prima facie case of undue aggregation, the onus of proof of such =r>eci 3 l circumstances is unon the narty allegin'* those circumstances. We hold that Zealand Breweries. Ltd., failed tr satisfy us that snecial circumstance-' evict hv reason o f which it hicfified i- seeding to aeouire the 8ni"« in addition to its m-esent cnhctantinl and s,-ffi-/.lonf holdinffc* of hotel rtrone-Moc and that the annlication mnet. therefore, ho -efitspd

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