Lawn bowls strikes gold in land sale
Rawhiti Bowling Club in the heart of the Auckland suburb of Remuera has been sold by tender to an investment company
with plans to develop an upmarket retirement village on the site.
In an email letter to Rawhiti Bowling Club members this week, club president Rod College has announced the sale of the
club for $8.1 million to New Zealand company BeGroup Ltd.
One of BeGroup’s directors and chief executive officer is Remuera resident Guy Eady who has worked in the retirement
industry for the past 25 years, and has served on the boards of healthcare services provider Oceania Group, aged care
provider Metlifecare, the New Zealand Aged Care Association, and the Retirement Villages Association.
Mr College described the sale price as “outstanding”. Proceeds from the sale will go to support the sport of bowls in
Auckland. Many of the club’s chattels - including the outdoor benches and drinking fountains - are being donated to
other bowling clubs.
“Selling up was the right thing to do. The club had a great run for 100 years, but the reality is that our membership
has been declining since the 1990s. In the best interest of the sport, it is better to bolster the membership numbers at
other nearby clubs,” he said.
The 5954sqm property, on a corner block of Rangitoto Ave, Rakau Street and Ara Street, has current Auckland Council
resource consent for up to nine dwellings, and is surrounded by some of the country’s finest real estate. Mr Eady has a
strong affiliation with the suburb - growing up just a few hundred metres away from Rawhiti Bowling Club in Ranui Road.
Mr Eady said BeGroup’s vision for the site was to develop high quality dwellings allowing retirees - many of whom he
expected would come from within the greater Remuera vicinity - to live in homes more suited to their personal needs and
changing life circumstances.
“BeGroup is developing a network of affordable and modern retirement villages with a full range of care options –
placing particular emphasis on building strong ties to the local community and helping residents enjoy life to the
fullest possible extent,” he said.
“The bowling club site provides us with an excellent opportunity for building those ties through a strong sense of
community in this part of Remuera.”
Bayleys Remuera salesperson David Rainbow, who negotiated the sale, said the land offering had attracted an
unprecedented amount of interest – with some 23 tenders received.
ends