Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Blossoming Kerepehi Flower Hothouse Business for Sale
Blossoming flower hothouse business placed on the market for sale
One of New Zealand’s most productive chrysanthemum hothouse nurseries has been placed on the market for sale.
GAIT Flowers nursery in the Waikato township of Kerepehi produces 17 varieties of chrysanthemum – encompassing yellow, white, pink/mauve, red and green colourings.
In the just completed 2016/2017 production year running from June to May, the GAIT Flowers nursery harvested 419,191 stems, while this year’s crop is already ahead of the same time last year by 7,365 stems.
The GAIT Flowers nursery freehold land, buildings and business at 346 Reservoir Canal Road are being marketed for sale as a going concern at auction on September 14 through Bayleys Hamilton.
Salesperson Josh Smith said the business’s temperature, humidity, and light-controlled greenhouse and shedding infrastructure consisted of two three-bay greenhouses, one two-bay greenhouse, two propagation houses, a three-bay implement shed and skyline garage.
He said that combined, the greenhouses encompassed some 4214 square metres of covered growing space.
“As an established supplier with a long history of producing quality stems, all product is sold to one wholesaler at an agreed price – allowing for highly accurate budgeting for the business’s income,” Mr Smith said.
“Two converted shipping containers provide storage facilities for the cut stems before they are sent off to market. The business chattels also include a 161 square metre open-plan four-bedroom owner/manager’s home,” he said.
“The nursery currently draws on council-supplied water for its irrigation. There is provision on the property for installing a ‘green’ water supply system that could utilise water collected off the hothouse rooftops and be diverted into holding tanks – with an area between the sheds kept aside specifically for this potential.”
The GAIT Flowers nursery business currently employs six part-time staff – equating to four fulltime staff and the two owner/managers working in a ‘hands-on’ capacity in the day-to-day running of the business. The nursery sends freshly-picked deliveries three times a week to its Auckland wholesaler, who has expressed a desire to buy as many stems as GAIT Flowers can produce.
“The current owners had no experience in the flower growing industry when they purchased the business in 2011, and have since increased the yield substantially - from 183,054 in the first year of production up to the current crop of 419,191 stems,” Mr Smith said.
“The addition of a third greenhouse has seen an increase in the harvest yield, and with the available land immediately adjacent to the production hub, there is an opportunity to expand the business even further.
“Heating within hot house heat system is currently run throughout the colder months by waste oil burners. Productivity has been further increased year-on-year by the development and implementation of good old fashioned ‘Kiwi ingenuity’ - which has seen the installation of bathroom-style under-floor heating placed under the propagation trays where the seedlings bloom.”
In summer, the hothouse roof tops and sides are opened up to natural warmth. Nutrients are supplied to the plants and soil via the automated watering system.
The property comes with a comfortable 161 square metre open plan four-bedroom owner/manager’s home adjacent to a staff office and lunchroom.
Mr Smith said that while Mother’s Day and Christmas were the two busiest growing periods for GAIT Flowers nursery, the business had built up a steady supply channel throughout the remainder of the year. A commercially-grown chrysanthemum takes 12 weeks to produce from planting to picking.
ENDS
Bayleys Real Estate
New Zealand
Bayleys is New Zealand's largest full-service real estate company. We offer expertise in the marketing and sale of a wide range of property, including residential real estate, farms and lifestyle blocks, and commercial and industrial property. This includes tourism and business sales such as hotels and motels. We also cover the real estate markets in Fiji and other Pacific Islands.
Bayleys also provides a complete property and facilities service including property management and valuations teams focused on achieving both Owner and Tenant satisfaction.
No other real estate company can match our breadth of coverage across all market sectors throughout New Zealand.
Gallagher Security: Release Of New Command Centre Unlocks New Era Of Security Tech
Fix & Fogg: NASA Hand-picks Kiwi Nut Butter Brand To Travel To Space In NZ First
Citizens of the Sea: Sailors To Revolutionise Our Understanding Of Pacific Biodiversity
Netsafe: Making A Splash With Online Safety: Netsafe Launches New Flagship Programme For Kids
NZGBC: Flood Resilience PhD Student Widi Auliagisni Named Future Thinker Of The Year 2024
Business Canterbury: European Free Trade Agreement A Game-changer For Canterbury
