Ariadne Acquires Orams Marine Village In New Zealand
Diversified property and investment group Ariadne Australia Limited (ASX: ARA) today announced its intention to acquire
the Orams Marine Village in Auckland for NZ$43 million.
The transaction is conditional on receiving consent from the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office.
Ariadne has entered into the transaction with a group of private investors and will retain a 50% shareholding and a
long-term management contract for the marine services centre.
Orams Marine Village is located in the Western Viaduct area within one kilometre of the Auckland CBD and comprises:
A 350 vessel dry stackAn international super-yacht slip wayA vessel repair yardA full marine service centre where the repair, maintenance and rebuilding of vessels can take place across 30 tenanciesA conference/departure lounge and associated facilities
Ariadne CEO Murray Boyte said the purchase is a milestone achievement for the company, which has been actively
investigating opportunities in the marina sector.
"This transaction fits neatly within Ariadne's strategic objective of investment in, and management of, marina and
marine service groups," Mr Boyte said.
"Until recently, our focus has been establishing our marina interests along the eastern seaboard of Australia, including
the Gold Coast, Port Macquarie and Bateman's Bay in New South Wales.
"We are now focusing on expanding these interests at an international level."
The trading businesses of Orams Marine Sales Limited – Riviera Sports NZ Limited, Orams Marine Fairline Limited (owned
and operated by Neven Barbour and Kip and Lyn Kempthorne) and Orams Marine Services Limited (owned and operated by Craig
Park) – are not part of the sale and will continue to operate on the site under long-term lease arrangements.
Mr Boyte said the Kempthornes have successfully built Orams Marine Village into a world-class international facility
over the past 32 years.
"Through Kip and Lyn's efforts and professionalism, they have built and enjoyed an enviable, world-class reputation for
servicing super-yachts," Mr Boyte said.
Kip Kempthorne said he thoroughly endorsed Ariadne's strategic plan of further developing the Orams brand and systems at
an international level.
"Lyn and I believe Ariadne has the management ability and depth to take Orams to the next level," Mr Kempthorne said.
"We also wish to acknowledge the importance of the employees, contractors and suppliers who have contributed to the
success of Orams Marine since its inception in 1949," he said.
Ariadne's current investment portfolio in the marine sector includes:
Ownership (50%) and operation of a 110-berth commercial and leisure marina on the Southport Spit, Gold Coast,
Queensland. This facility includes marine service operators as tenants and operates a modern state-of-the-art high speed
fuel pump system for leisure and commercial craft.The Port Macquarie Marina at Port Macquarie on the New South Wales coast. A project masterplan is currently being
prepared for review by the NSW Lands Department for the redevelopment and expansion of this marina. Stage 1 comprises an
additional 80 wet berths and replacement of the existing 40 inner-harbour berths and a fuel capacity upgrade is to
commence in the next 12 months. Development rights effective 1 July 2007 have been secured from the NSW Department of Lands for the redevelopment of the
Bateman's Bay marina and marine facilities complex on the New South Wales south-coast. The project will be staged over a
three-year period and will have an end value of approximately $60 million. The redevelopment proposal comprises a
multi-staged, mixed-use marina and tourism development project containing:
240 wet berths250 dry stack storage facilityFuelling facilities, boat maintenance hard standMarina, commercial and maintenance services for the marine related tenanciesRetail and commercial facilities
Ariadne also jointly owns International Infrastructure Management Pty Ltd (IIM) with Babcock and Brown, which
specialises in investment and management opportunities in port infrastructure and the marine services sector.
IIM holds an 11% shareholding in Mermaid Marine Limited ("Mermaid"), a listed Australian company which provides a range
of marine related services to the oil and gas exploration and production companies operating off the west-coast of
Australia.
MRM is the largest company of its type in Australia operating shore-based facilities and a fleet of off-shore servicing
ships.
ENDS