Dorchester Pacific buys Gisborne hotel for $12 mln

Dorchester Pacific buys Gisborne’s Emerald Hotel for $12 million

By Jonathan Tringham

Nov 26. (BusinessWire) - Dorchester Finance, a unit of NZX listed financial services group Dorchester Pacific Ltd., has purchased the Emerald Hotel in Gisborne for $12.6 million.

Previously owned by New Zealand Guardian Trust, the property comprises 50 hotel units, 4 retail tenancies and 6 apartments. The purchase is in line with Dorchester’s hotel property loan positions of taking ownership and control to optimise value, the company said.

“We believe an orderly realisation over time will produce a significantly better outcome for investors and shareholders” it said.

A mortgage of $4.5 million over the property that was repaid in September had no cash impact or additional requirement to provisions as a result of the purchase, according to a statement released by Dorchester.

Dorchester Pacific shares were unchanged at 0.135 on the NZX today.

The finance company, which has paid about 35% of the principal owed to debenture holders under its deferred repayment plan, is keen to settle its debt with investors to get out of the moratorium it’s currently operating in.

It owes about 7,200 investors some $169 million, and has paid $58 million to date, with its next payment due next month.

(BusinessWire)

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