Eastgate owner under fire on delays

NPT, a listed property trust that owns Christchurch’s Eastgate Mall, is under fire from the New Zealand Shareholders’ Association over a takeover bid.

Augusta Capital, which holds a minority stake in NPT, recently requisitioned a special shareholders’ meeting within a month.

Auckland-based Augusta wants to replace NPT directors Sir John Anderson, Jim Sherwin and Tony Sewell, a former head of Ngai Tahu Property.

The NPT directors say there are other options and will hold a shareholders’ meeting in February. But NZSA chairman John Hawkins said this was setting ‘‘a very unsatisfactory precedent’’.

He said the Companies Act was silent on the timing of meetings and it was not covered under NZX listing rules. They were typically held within three or four weeks of being requisitioned.

Hawkins said the resolutions for the special meeting related only to the potential removal of NPT directors. The NPT directors were under no obligation to immediately respond to any discussion at the meeting.

However, it might be helpful for the board to listen to shareholders’ opinions before considering any proposal, Hawkins said.

NPT should promptly call the special meeting and give shareholders the opportunity to determine the composition of their board, he said.

NPT has underperformed over many years and shareholders at the last annual meeting questioned the churn rate of directors and strategies to lift performance.

Eastgate is NPT’s main asset. It also owns four other commercial properties.

Hawkins said determining the most appropriate people to represent them was a fundamental right of shareholders. Any director was subject to the legal obligation to act in the best interests of the company, he said.