New office as move mulled

AUCKLAND: Summerset Group has opened an office in Melbourne as it considers expanding into Australia.

At the retirement village developer and operator’s annual meeting last week, chairman Rob Campbell said the new Melbourne office was being headed by its former general manager of development Paul Morris, who was now the company’s general manager of development for Australia, according to speech notes published to the NZX.

‘‘Last year I indicated we would commence investigating Australia as a potential market for expansion. Since that time we have been working through assessing this market and how we would position ourselves and operate within it,’’ he said.

Chief executive Julian Cook said the company believed further growth was likely to come from Australia, which was an exciting opportunity but ‘‘it is important that we plan carefully to ensure we succeed and we are committed to doing just this.’’

Mr Campbell first raised the prospect of moving into Australia at the company’s annual meeting in 2017, when he said it was a possibility which would require extensive research.

On Friday Mr Campbell said the company, which houses over 4700 residents, had more than doubled in size since it listed on the NZX in 2011 and was ‘‘likely to double again in the next five years as we continue to grow and as the 70plus population continues to increase’’.

In February, Summerset reported it had lifted annual earnings for calendar 2017 by

44% to $81.7 million, ahead of forecast. Net profit jumped 54% to $223.4 million, as the value of the company’s investment properties increased by

$218 million, compared with a $143.5 million gain a year earlier.

Summerset built a record 450 retirement units in 2017, up from 409 units the previous year, and plans to match that level again this year.

The company’s shares were unchanged at $6.86 on Friday, and have gained 33% in the past 12 months. — BusinessDesk