The new ownership is a joint venture between two New Zealand companies, Commercial Factors Ltd and Scenic Hotel Group, and the Royal International Hotel will soon be the network’s 18th hotel, said Matangi Tonga Magazine.

Brendon said that they had been working on the project during the past four years and their tender for the property was accepted recently.

He said the joint venture group was also interested in acquiring the International Dateline Hotel to be part of the Scenic network of hotels.

According to PIR, the International Dateline Hotel in Nukualofa is the first Pacific island hotel owed and operated by the People’s Republic of China.

Sakopo Lolohea, the Chief Executive Officer said that the taking of the Royal International Hotel by the New Zealand joint venture groups was the second best thing that had ever happened to the Tongan Tourism Industry since the opening of the International Dateline Hotel in 1967, reported Matangi Tonga Magazine.

Ross Brijevich, the Manager of the Royal International Hotel said that the tender of the two New Zealand companies for the property was accepted on May 10, and the next stage of their taking ownership of the property would be the assigning of the lease of the property to the new owner.

Once that is done then the firm will move on to acquiring business licenses and the repairing of the property, said Ross who did not want to put any figures on property that they are acquiring. He has taken over the running of the hotel and said that out of the 78 rooms, 64 are in good condition.

The construction of the Royal International Hotel began on 7 April 1992, as a venture of Chinese businessman Sam Wong, and after a long saga, it was eventually opened for business by King George Tupou V on October 9 2007.

Scenic Hotel Group is New Zealand’s largest independently-owned and operated hotel group and prides itself on offering true Kiwi hospitality at each of its seventeen hotels.

In an announcement to the stock exchange Monday, DNZ Property Fund chairman Tim Storey said merging with Argosy would create an internally-managed New Zealand commercial property portfolio of significant scale and diversification across sectors and geography, said Stuff New Zealand.

Unfortunately after its initial approach the independent directors of Argosy have so far declined to engage constructively, he said.

Storey reiterated that while the company has not had the opportunity to engage with Argosy or complete due diligence, it believes there is an opportunity to structure a merger of the two businesses that provides a better value outcome for Argosy unit holders, both immediately and over time.

According to Stuff New Zealand, last month Argosy, a unit trust with a market capitalization of $439 million, said it planned to buy out its management contract with ANZ bank subsidiary OnePath for $32.5 million and set up a new internal management structure.

Another OnePath managed property fund, Vital Healthcare, is going through the same process. While unit-holders will be offered a chance to vote on the buyout plan, Argosy’s trust deed also allows the management contract to be terminated by a vote of unit holders and payment of a set fee, said the report.

Independent director Peter Brook told BusinessDay the fee based on figures at last balance date would be about $12 million.

However, Fund manager Matthew Goodson of BT Funds, whose funds have invested in Argosy and DNZ stock, said the proposal had clear benefits but arriving at a deal acceptable to both sets of investors could be challenging.

According to Goodson, one can see the obvious logic to this in terms of potentially a lesser management fee payment and significant cost savings, but the difficulty will be getting an agreeable exchange ratio [to swap Argosy units for DNZ shares]‘

And while a $20 million fee saving was not to be sneezed at, he said, it would be spread among a large number of shares, reported Stuff New Zealand.

Argosy Property Trust was listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange (originally as Paramount Property Trust) on 3 December 2002, after a successful public offering that raised unit holders’ equity of $31,543,000.

The sale is due to settle on 16 September 2011. Constructed in 1988, 50 The Terrace is a three-storey office building acquired by the Trust in 2005 for $4.1 million, and is located on a rear site behind 44 The Terrace, also owned by the Trust. A marketing campaign with Colliers International is currently underway to sell 44 The Terrace.

The Trust also confirmed today that it has recently settled the sale of 1-17 Broadway Avenue, in Palmerston North for $2.0 million. 1-17 Broadway Avenue was acquired by the Trust in 1999 to facilitate the relocation of the Farmers department store to The Plaza Shopping Centre as part of the centre’s redevelopment. The sale price equates to current book value.

Chief Executive of the Manager of the Trust, Kiwi Income Properties Limited, Chris Gudgeon said the assets are not core to the company’s investment portfolio and are logical candidates for capital recycling given the opportunity.

Kiwi Income Property Trust is New Zealand’s largest listed diversified property trust with $1.98 billion (as at 31 March 2011) invested in a diversified portfolio of retail and office assets located throughout New Zealand.

The Trust was founded in 1992, and a year later became New Zealand’s first listed property trust.  KIP invests only in New Zealand real estate, a mandate which it has followed since inception.  At 31 March 2011 the Trust’s portfolio comprises 14 assets located across New Zealand.

The Trust is managed by Kiwi Income Properties Limited, a company which is ultimately owned by Colonial First State Global Asset Management, the largest manager of Australian-sourced funds, and in turn the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

The Trust’s vision is to be New Zealand’s leading property investment vehicle with a diversified portfolio of high quality assets providing superior returns.

The Trust’s objective is to optimize earnings and provide attractive long-term sustainable returns to investors through the strategic acquisition, professional management and ongoing development of office, retail and industrial property assets.

According to Stuff, Serepisos is one of the Auckland’s most colorful business personalities. He owns the Wellington Phoenix Football Club and a string of commercial and residential properties around Wellington.

However, Stuff reiterated that his property empire has struggled under the weight of its debts and his portfolio has been steadily shrinking as he has sold down assets to stay one step ahead of his creditors.

Serepisos’s Century City group developed the hotel on Tory St in Wellington’s CBD, which operated as the Grand Mercure Century City Apartments and was one of his most valuable assets. It had a rating valuation of $16.93 million, said the report.

According to Stuff New Zealand, the neighboring parking building, which Serepisos also owned, had a rating valuation of $13.75m, although the Century City subsidiary which owned the property was placed into receivership in May.

It is not known how much Dunajtschik paid for the properties, although sources said it was unlikely Serepisos would receive any of the money because both were heavily mortgaged, said Stuff.

According to Stuff, the hotel had a first mortgage to ASB securing up to $46m plus interest, and a second mortgage to South Canterbury Finance securing up to $25m, while the parking building has a first mortgage to ASB securing up to $21.75m, and a second mortgage to South Canterbury Finance subsidiary Wellington Finance, which secured up to $20m, although it is not known how much Serepisos and Century City actually owed on the loans.

Those mortgages were all cancelled when the sale of both properties was settled on Friday, although ASB will have an ongoing involvement with the properties because it has provided Dunajtschik with first mortgage funding for the deal, said the report.

Dunajtschik is one of this country’s most successful developers and unlike many of his contemporaries; he prefers to retain ownership of his developments, keeping them as long-term investments.

Stuff indicated that Dunajtschik developed and owns Wellington’s largest office building by floor area, the Asteron building on Featherston St, opposite the Wellington railway station. The 33,500m2 building, which was completed last year, cost an estimated $100m and has the Inland Revenue Department as its major tenant.

According to Stuff, Progressive confirmed Wednesday evening it had entered into an agreement with Soho Square receiver Grant Thornton to buy the 1.33 hectare site.

Originally the site was destined to become an over 32,000 square meter mixed-use development with shops, apartments and offices but developer Layne Kell’s associated companies went under in 2009 owing $25m to hedge fund Fortress and about $70m to Strategic Finance, said Stuff New Zealand.

Progressive Enterprises’ general manager of property Adrian Walker said the company is excited about the opportunity to develop the site, said Stuff.

Ponsonby is a vibrant community and the Soho Square site represents a unique opportunity for development and we look forward to creating new plans for the site in coming months, he said. The company didn’t confirm how much it will pay for the site, said Stuff.

Progressive Enterprises Limited is an Australian owned company operating in New Zealand, and a subsidiary of the Australian retail group Woolworths Limited.

Progressive Enterprises is the second largest grocery company in New Zealand (following Foodstuffs), with a revenue of NZ$4,957 million for the year to June 2009. With a 52% market share, Foodstuffs is New Zealand’s largest grocer, it forms part of the New Zealand supermarket duopoly.

Progressive had previously acquired a 10% share of New Zealand’s largest retailer, The Warehouse.

Woolworths Limited, one of Australia’s largest retailers, purchased Progressive Enterprises along with 22 Action stores in Australia in 2005. The deal was worth approximately NZ$2.5 billion and culminated in the official transfer of assets on 24 November 2005.

Progressive runs a number of grocery store chains such as Woolworths with 21 supermarket stores nationwide, Countdown with 77 discounter supermarket stores, including a number of rebranded “Big Fresh” stores following the Progressive takeover of Woolworths Supermarkets NZ and Foodtown with 25 supermarket stores across the upper North Island.

The supermarket chain also runs SuperValue with 31 South Island convenience supermarket stores, many stores in North Island as well, run as a franchise; Freshchoice with 11 South Island stores, 1 in North Island- a high quality supermarket with a large range, run as a franchise and Woolworths at Gull 22 Woolworths Quickstop and Micro Stores.

The arrangements follow an agreement by Algeco Scotsman’s owners to acquire Ausco from Waco International Limited which, subject to conditions, is expected to complete around the end of June 2011.

Ausco, headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, is a major supplier of modular buildings and accommodation units in the high growth mining, oil, and gas markets of Western Australia and Queensland.

Underpinned by Ausco’s pre-eminent design, assembly, and service capabilities, Ausco has developed a premium product portfolio and one of the largest hire fleets in Australia and New Zealand with more than 14,000 modules. The business also operates in the highly attractive build-own-operate market, providing relocatable accommodation facilities for workers in remote Australian locations, often close to mining or infrastructure projects.

The arrangement will provide Algeco Scotsman with a significant market presence in the Asia-Pacific region, substantial exposure to high growth markets, and expansion of the company’s current geographic footprint. Today Algeco Scotsman holds leading market positions in over 20 countries across North America and Europe.

Algeco Scotsman has increased its global leadership position in the modular space and secure storage solutions market through execution of a global expansion strategy, backed by current owners, TDR Capital LLP.

Duncan Gillis, president and chief executive officer for Algeco Scotsman said the Ausco transaction furthers the company’s strategic objective of expanding into high growth markets and provides access to the economic expansion of the broader Asia-Pacific region.

The transaction provides excellent opportunities within the mining, energy, and resources sectors in Australia which exhibit a strong demand outlook driven predominantly by China’s economic growth, said Gillis. The business will also benefit from an upturn in commercial, industrial, and construction demand in core domestic markets, he added.

Ausco Modular Holdings Ltd. was part of Waco International Limited, a leading industrial services business with operation in Australasia, South Africa, and the UK, owned jointly by Unitas Capital and CCMP Capital.

Algeco Scotsman is a leading global business services provider focused on modular space and storage solutions. Operating as Williams Scotsman in North America and Algeco in Europe, the company manages a fleet of more than 300,000 units, with operations in approximately 24 countries globally.

The REIT’s 50% interest in the 15 freestanding supermarkets was acquired by its New Zealand co-owner, ASL, which elected to terminate its joint venture relationship with the REIT in early 2010. The disposal price was determined by way of external valuation, in line with the terms included in the joint venture operating agreement.

The settlement of the sale of the REIT’s remaining two New Zealand assets, located in the region affected by the recent earthquake in Christchurch, has been delayed pending the purchaser obtaining adequate insurance cover and their sale is forecast to be completed by the end of September 2011.

Today’s completion of the sale of the 15 properties has resulted in A$64.11 million of net equity proceeds being repatriated to Australia as the portfolio carried no property level debt, resulting in a reduction in the REIT’s balance sheet gearing of 2.1% and look through gearing of 1.8%.

The proceeds will be utilized in Australia to invest either into the redevelopment of existing properties, the acquisition of new neighborhood or sub-regional shopping centers or the buy-back of the REIT’s units, to deliver long term income and capital growth for investors.

Charter Hall Retail REIT’s Chief Executive Officer, Steven Sewell noted that the move is a another positive step towards REIT’s strategy of recycling equity from its non-core United States and New Zealand investments into the local Australian market, further enhancing the its earnings quality and growth.

Following this transaction, the upcoming sale of the final two New Zealand assets and completion of the two contracted portfolio disposals in the United States, 93% of the REIT’s net tangible assets are forecast to be in Australia.

Charter Hall Retail REIT is a leading listed real estate investment trust focused on investing in predominantly grocery anchored shopping centers. The REIT’s core portfolio comprises assets across Australia and Europe anchored by some of the world’s leading retailers.

Charter Hall Retail REIT is managed by Charter Hall Group, one of Australia’s leading fully integrated property groups with 20 years’ experience managing high quality property on behalf of institutional, wholesale and retail clients. Charter Hall has over $10 billion of funds under management across the office, retail, industrial and residential sectors.

Jumpstart Equity Partners said it is initially targeting distressed and undervalued real estate-related investments in select markets within New Zealand and Australia. Jumpstart believes the region demonstrates economic stability, sustained population growth and strong market fundamentals, but continues to be encumbered by a tightened supply of credit following the global financial crisis.

Institutional and individual investors will gain exclusive access to pre-qualified real estate investment opportunities outside the United States by way of a unique risk-averse strategy that offers investors the advantages of direct investment and benefits of a professionally managed fund.

Jumpstart said fundamentally stable real estate markets, such as Australia and New Zealand, still continue to experience liquidity constraints especially in the private sector, sustaining quality deal flow and limiting competition, which is extremely opportunistic from an investment perspective.

Based in Sydney, the Australian operation will be managed by seasoned and highly respected executives with, on average, more than 20 years experience in private equity real estate investment in the United States and Asia Pacific region.

Jumpstart Equity Partners chief executive officer Jason M. Neal, said success is reliant on a cohesive management team with a proven and successful track record in the region. Neal stated that the firm has formed a regional management and advisory team consisting of some of the most experienced and successful investment executives in Australia, who have worked together the past several years and provide access to a valuable network for off-market deal origination, as well as human and financial resources.

Jumpstart Equity Partners has employed a diversified investment approach for Australia and New Zealand concentrating on distressed debt, mezzanine loans, secondary opportunities, preferred equity and joint venture equity investments generally ranging in size from $10 million to $50 million. The investment strategy focuses on value-added and opportunistic investments that provide current income and capital growth.

The objective of each investment, structured as a proprietary closed-end partnership, is to achieve an internal rate of return (IRR) of not less than 15% over an anticipated three to five year term of investment. Participating investors gain exclusive access to pre-qualified investment opportunities in Australia and New Zealand and have the option to contribute financially on a deal-by-deal basis.

Mark Powell, Hirepool’s chief executive, said the investment is in line with the firm’s strategy of increasing its market share, as more clients in the New Zealand market seek ways to cut down their own capital costs. Powell further said that as a strategic acquisition, the Cube Innovations’ assets are a perfect fit for Hirepool, as it adds the business to Hirepool’s own suite of products.

The investment comes in the wake of a previous acquisition Hirepool has undertaken within the last three months. Hirepool acquired McEntee Hire Waikato Portable Sanitation assets in December 2010.

Powell reiterated that with the renewed confidence in the construction and contracting sectors, the purchase of these two assets demonstrate Hirepool’s commitment to continued growth via acquisitions. According to Powell, Hirepool is on the lookout to acquire assets that complement its widening product range. Hirepool also owns and operates Henderson Rentals and Rhodes Rentals as well as New Zealand’s largest portable sanitation business, Port-A-Loo.

Cube Innovations manufactures portable lunchrooms, office blocks, portable toilets, showers and short-term accommodation units for heavy construction and engineering projects, as well as the horticultural industry and for sporting, entertainment and cultural events.

Peter Elliot, Hirepool’s national product manager, noted that Cube Innovations’ business line compliments much of Hirepool’s rental equipment and enables the firm venture fully into the portable building industry.  Elliot reiterated that given the increasing demand for temporary buildings, Hirepool will be well placed to meet these demands in both the North and South Island.

According to Elliot, Hirepool has already sent a number of ablution blocks to service welfare centers and emergency services in Christchurch. The portable building market is estimated to be a NZ$25-30 million business per annum. Hirepool has been receiving increased numbers of calls from customers to help them out with temporary and long-term solutions, which it will now be able to provide, added Elliot.

Hirepool was bought in 2003 by Rakino Group Ltd, a New Zealand consortium comprising JB Were, Hunter Powell Investments Limited, and Mainfreight Ltd. Today Hunter Powell Investments Limited and Next Capital own the recently renamed New Zealand Rental Group, operating from key locations throughout the North and South Island, with a strong commitment to continued growth.

The nine year lease to Carter Holt Harvey, which is subject to fixed annual increases, still has 5.5 remaining with rights to extend the term to 12 years.

Peter Dufaur, general manager of development noted that it is a strategic acquisition that offers an attractive yield with future development potential, adding that the acquisition is further enhanced by the firm’s ownership of the neighboring property. The acquired property is located alongside the trust’s Glassworks Industry Park, and provides additional alternative access and future redevelopment options.

Shares in the trust were unchanged at 92 cents, and have declined 12.2% this year. The 9 year lease to Carter Holt Harvey Limited has a remaining term of 5.5 years with further rights of renewal that could extend the term by up to 12 years. The lease is subject to fixed annual increases. The 4.3 hectare property shares a common boundary with Glassworks Industry Park, providing alternative access and future redevelopment options.

Goodman is an integrated property group that owns, develops and manages industrial property and business space globally. The firm invests in business parks, office parks, industrial estates and warehouse and distribution centres. It also offers a range of property funds, giving investors access to its specialist services and property assets.

With total assets under management of A$16.2 billion (€11.4 billion, £9.1 billion) and 327 business space properties under management, Goodman is one of the world’s leading listed property groups. Its success is founded on the quality and integrity of its people and the long-term relationships it builds with its customers.

Carter Holt Harvey is Australasia’s leading forest products company, with significant interests in wood products, pulp, paper and packaging. Leading Carter Holt Harvey brands include Bestwood, Customwood, Ecoply, Kopine and Pinex, and the company’s packaging can be found in most supermarket aisles.

The Pulp & Paper business is comprised of four mills and two associated operational units, which work as a single integrated business. The four mills are Kinleith, Tasman, Whakatane, and Penrose, plus the operational units of Fullcircle and Lodestar.