BERL Report Backs Up Invermay Concerns

Dunedin (Saturday, 16 November 2013) – An independent analysis of AgResearch’s Invermay proposal shows it carries enormous risks, city leaders say.

The Dunedin City Council and the Otago Regional Council contracted Business and Economic Research Limited (BERL) to review and analyse the AgResearch Future Footprint business case proposal. Under the proposal, 85 jobs would be removed from Invermay, at Mosgiel, by 2016.

Releasing the BERL report today, Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull and Otago Regional Council Chairman Stephen Woodhead stated it showed the AgResearch business case was weak and did not follow best practice.

The report states that given the monetary value of the property to be disposed of and the lack of information contained in the business case, it was “extremely risky for the Minister of Science and Innovation not to have required AgResearch to develop their business base in accordance with Treasury’s Better Business Case (BBC) guidelines”.

ENDS

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