Augusta Capital Ltd talks of new directions in its annual report, and managing director Mark Francis (pictured) gave some details on that approach when he spoke at the company’s annual meeting in Auckland last week.
One is for the parent company to take a stake of 7.5-10% in funds it establishes. Most syndicators of the past aimed for a complete selldown.
A second is to lift its working capital to support the launch of new initiatives, including funding property deposits & initial fund establishment costs. It’s already done this, and has both backed its investments by taking up a share of underwriting and used its resources to secure investments without having to rely on the subsequent selldown.
A third is the intention to list funds, such as its industrial property fund. That’s a feature of creating a portfolio platform – syndicates (which are distinctly different from the buy-&-hold investments of the past; these ones increasingly have potential for additional development or other remodelling and are likely to be sold before the syndication term is up), investments in other listed entities, the first of those being Asset Plus Ltd (the former NPT Ltd), the new listed funds, new ventures into tourism & residential, and portfolios for wholesale & institutional investors.
And a fourth is to take its approach to Australia, where its investments so far have been in Queensland.
Guy French-Wright, who was development manager for a Melbourne-based wholesale property fund manager, Quintessential Equity, before coming to Auckland for 18 months as Augusta’s chief operating officer, is returning to Melbourne with a role, in Augusta chief executive Mark Francis’s words, “of being our eyes & ears to invest throughout Australia”.
Mr French-Wright worked in Melbourne for 15 years before his Auckland stint, including 5 years with Salta Properties leading commercial development and another 5 years at Mirvac as commercial development director.
66% jump in directors’ fees explained
At the annual meeting, shareholders approved a 66% increase in the pool for directors’ fees, from $334,000 to $553,000/year, with only a 2.45% vote against. Company chair Paul Duffy said the fees had been stable since 2014 and commented that, after he joined the board in 2015, “it’s not wise to come on and immediately increase the fees”.
Mr Duffy said the fees set now were “market or slightly under. I give you a commitment that we won’t increase fees for 2 years”.
That said, he also made a couple of points about the listed property sector and the search for suitable directors. In a comparison with much of the listed property sector, he commented that “we’re not just a rent collector, we’re a fund manager” and returned to the topic later, saying the typical approach was for “the management to deliver basically a fait accompli, and look what happens. That’s what happened to Fletcher Challenge [in its new guise as Fletcher Building Ltd, where the board didn’t have the backgrounds or expertise to see through what was being presented to it].”
After proposing this fee increase, Mr Duffy said he’d discussed it with the Shareholders Association, corporate investors & some smaller shareholders.
“We’re not a normal property company. We’re not just a rent collector, we’re a fund manager. We’re probably more suited to the investment category (on the NZX), and the directors’ role is much more than I had at DNZ (now Stride).”
Mr Duffy said Augusta, now almost completely out of direct property investment (its final payment from sale of the Finance Centre in Auckland is scheduled for next year), managed over 60 syndicates & funds. Parent company directors played a role in every one, especially on due diligence – and Augusta has turned syndication from the buy-&-hold model to the buy-improve-&-trade model.
Mr Duffy said getting the right remuneration was important in attracting the right board candidates. At the lower board fees of the last 4 years, “I wasn’t getting the right traction, the right people,” he said.
Directors also get fees for conducting due diligence – a maximum $10,000, mostly $5000. Mr Duffy said he’s given the Shareholders Association a commitment that he’d monitor those fees.
Renamed NPT part of a growing platform
Listed company NPT Ltd, renamed Asset Plus Ltd, in which Augusta holds an 18.85% stake, has become part of Augusta’s portfolio platform, alongside its industrial property fund, which it would also like to list in due course.
Augusta managing director Mark Francis said Asset Plus was “essentially a debt-free company holding 3 assets” – the Eastgate shopping centre in Christchurch, Heinz Wattie national distribution centre in Hastings and 22 Stoddard Rd shopping centre in Mt Roskill, Auckland – and its first investment under Augusta management needed to be “a good one, the right one”.
Another Augusta fund, the Value Add Fund No 1, was created in 2016 for wholesale investors. It’s sold 4 of its 5 properties, leaving what is now called Hangar 54, at the corner of Cook & Nelson Sts in Auckland, looking for tenants following asbestos removal.
The fund has returned 72.75% of its equity to shareholders and is debt-free, and Augusta is discussing Hangar 54’s sale with a buyer.
“We intended an internal return on assets of 11-14%,” Mr Francis said. “It was set up as a 5-year fund and will be rounded out after 3 years.”
Links:
Augusta Capital
Asset Plus
Attribution: Augusta annual meeting, annual report, website.
