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The fnancial results for the year were very welcome,
and vindicate our decisions to continue investing
in new property assets in recent years, despite the
Global Financial Crisis (GFC). The GFC has in fact
been an advantage in some respects: construction
costs, for example, have been very competitive.
Our initial focus during the fnancial year was on
bedding in
, the new specialty retail mall at
, and the new
hotel, both of which were completed in the frst half.
The result is that TGH is now in the position of having
better comfort around future cash fows.
We are constantly making strategic assessments of
what the best options are for each of the company’s
assets. We benchmark each of our properties against
others in the same asset class. This not only gives us
the criteria for investment decisions, but also allows
us to measure how we’re performing over time. The
result is that we have more certainty than ever before
about where our future opportunities lie.
So in the second half of the year, it was more of a
behind-the-scenes effort directed toward that end.
Planning for our proposed freight hub and inland port
at Ruakura took up a lot of our time. It involved an
intensive programme of work to prepare the project
for inclusion in the draft Hamilton City District Plan and
Waikato Regional Council’s Regional Policy Statement.
Both are up for renewal and therefore consultation this
calendar year.
The Ruakura project involves creating a master
plan for 500 hectares of land, with all land uses
fully envisioned and integrated, and all necessary
infrastructure identifed to facilitate those land uses. It
also means fully comprehending what is involved in
creating an effective inland port and freight hub.
But above and beyond that, it involves developing a
real vision for what Ruakura could become, more than
just what it must become.
Also high on the agenda in 2012 was identifying future
priorities at
and fnalising
master
plan, having secured resource consents for most of its
remaining stages.
2012 was very
much a year of
consolidation
for Tainui Group
Holdings.
From the
CEo
there will be huge opportunities for others to
join us in the Ruakura development, and that it
will attract considerable external investment
into the Waikato.
araa anoo ngaa wheinga o
ngeetehi kia puea a Ruakura, ka tooia mai tahi
ngaa putunga tahua o waho ki te riu o Waikato.
Mike Pohio,
CEO