Rangatira Chairman retires; Board elects David Pilkington as Chairman

Wellington investment company Rangatira Limited (Rangatira) has appointed its former Deputy Chairman and professional company director David Pilkington as the next company’s Chairman. David succeeds Murray Gough who retired from the Board at the company’s Annual Meeting yesterday; Murray Gough has been Rangatira’s Chairman for the past 10 years and a Director since 1994.

Murray Gough said, “David is an experienced and capable leader, and I have every confidence that Rangatira will continue to perform well under his chairmanship. It is an honour to have been Chairman of Rangatira and I thank shareholders for their support over the past 20 years.”

David Pilkington has been a Rangatira Director since 2006 and Deputy Chairman since 2012. Earlier this year he was elected Chairman of the country’s largest port, the Port of Tauranga. He will assume that role after the current Chairman retires in October following the Port of Tauranga’s annual meeting.

Before retiring in 2004 to become a fulltime company director, he spent nearly 30 years with the NZ Dairy Board and Fonterra. During this period he held senior roles in New Zealand and internationally including Managing Director, New Zealand Milk (2000 to 2004), head of global operations for the Dairy Board (1994-2000), and Chief Executive of Milk Products Holdings North America.

His current roles also include Chairman of Hellers Limited, and a Director of Balance Agri-Nutrients Limited, Douglas Pharmaceuticals Limited, Restaurant Brands Limited, Tuatara Brewing Company Limited and Zespri Group Limited, a Trustee of New Zealand Community Trust, and an appointed member of the Wellington City Council’s Audit and Risk Management Committee.

David has a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) from the University of Canterbury, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Dairy Science and Technology from Massey University.

David Pilkington said, “Rangatira has had a particularly good year and the company’s performance in recent years has seen it strengthen its balance sheet and outperform similar alternative investment vehicles.

“The strong result this year is an endorsement of Rangatira’s long term investment strategy. Murray Gough deserves recognition for leading the team responsible for producing not only that result but for positioning the company in a strong position for the future.

“Looking ahead, we currently have around $50 million available to invest in New Zealand companies with strong growth potential and looking for additional capital to take them to the next stage.”

Rangatira has a longer investment timeframe than many private equity funds and prefers to be a cornerstone investor, co-investing with business owners and management. In some cases, it will do this alongside other like-minded investment companies and institutions.

“Rangatira’s investment strategy of ‘investing in business for growth’, applied on a long term basis, has produced better than average sustained returns over many years for its shareholders. This can be attributed to a diversified portfolio, conservative gearing and the active involvement of our directors and management in the governance of the companies in which we invest. We are committed to a continuation of this strategy as we look to expand our portfolio of New Zealand business holdings, to the mutual benefit of those companies and Rangatira,” David Pilkington said.

Ends 

About Rangatira Limited

Rangatira is a Wellington-based investment company with investment funds of around $200 million. Established in 1937, the Company is 51% owned by the JR McKenzie Trust with other community and charitable organisations owning another 15% of the shares. The balance of the shares is owned by private investors. Rangatira’s mission is to increase both the capital value of its shares and the dividends paid to its shareholders by investing creatively and competitively.

Rangatira has built a portfolio of local and international investments across a wide range of sectors. The Company has pursued a policy of investment in small to medium-sized unlisted New Zealand companies, complemented by holdings in a range of publicly listed New Zealand, Australian and international companies. All investments have been made taking a long-term position in companies that are well founded and well managed with good growth potential.

Rangatira is strictly commercial in its investment approach and benchmarks its performance against the wider investment community.

Rangatira will continue to explore investment opportunities across a range of business sectors. We aim to add value to our unlisted investments by actively contributing at management and board level, recognising the need to combine high standards of governance with sound management and a clear focus on growth and profitability.

Rangatira’s shares are listed and traded on the unlisted market.

02:45PM Wednesday, 04 September, 2013