News
Greenstone investment update – fourth new site announced
30 August 2010Less than five months since Greenstone Energy acquired Shell New Zealand’s retail and distribution assets, the New Zealand company has confirmed four new investments.
Today Greenstone confirmed it will invest in a brand new $3 million retail service station at Waiuku, south of Auckland. The site is on the corner of Kitchener Road and King Street and is currently trading as a Caltex site.
This site will close in four to six weeks. It will then be completely demolished and a new state-of-the-art Greenstone site will be built from scratch, featuring a 100 square metre shop, eight fuel filling stations and a top of the line car wash.
The new Greenstone site will open in the first quarter of 2011.
In terms of other developments:
· Greenstone’s construction of a new $2 million retail service station on the North Shore started this week and the new site will open in October / November.
· Construction on Greenstone’s new $3 million retail service station at Bethlehem near Tauranga is proceeding well, with tanks and fuel infrastructure installed, and the shop and forecourt structure under construction.
· In July, Greenstone completed and commissioned a brand new $400,000 commercial truck refuelling facility at Whangarei.
Greenstone Chief Executive Mike Bennetts said the company was investing strategically in the company’s future growth.
“With many fuel retailers pulling back from the New Zealand market, there are some very good investment opportunities for Greenstone. Our current investments are located in growing markets and will make an important contribution to our growth during a period of industry consolidation,” he said.
“There’s been strong public and customer support for Greenstone since we acquired the Shell downstream business in April and we’re determined to continue to earn that support.
“Customers like the fact that we’re investing in the New Zealand economy, our profits are retained in New Zealand for the benefit of New Zealanders and we’re creating jobs.”
Jonathan Hill
Communications Manager
Greenstone Energy bond issue
13 August 2010Greenstone Energy is pleased to announce an issue of bonds by Greenstone Energy Finance Limited.
Greenstone may not be a familiar name, but the proceeds of this bond issue will be funding activities and services the public of New Zealand are likely to know well. In April 2010, the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and Infratil acquired Shell’s New Zealand downstream oil and fuel operations and shareholding in The New Zealand Refining Company. This business imports, processes, distributes and sells approximately 2,500 million litres of crude oil and fuel each year, about 30% of New Zealand’s total consumption.
The offer is for up to NZ$100 million of bonds, with the ability to accept up to NZ$100 million of oversubscriptions. The interest rate on the bonds has been set at 7.35% per annum with interest payable semi annually. The bonds will be secured and will mature on 15 October 2016.
Money raised by the bond issue will be used to repay a part of the bank funding raised by Greenstone at the time of its purchase from Shell. The Bonds are unconditionally guaranteed by Aotea Energy Ltd, Greenstone Energy Holdings Ltd, Greenstone Energy Ltd, Harbour City Property Investments Ltd, Big Tree Stations Ltd, and Mini Fuels & Oils Ltd. New Zealand Superannuation Fund and Infratil do not guarantee the Bonds. The Greenstone Group's banks and Bondholders share the same security over the issuer's and guarantors' assets on an equal ranking basis. This security ranks behind Shell's security over petroleum products that Shell has supplied for which it has not been paid, and their proceeds, and statutorily preferred creditors.
ANZ National Bank Limited and First New Zealand Capital Securities Limited have been appointed Joint Lead Managers to the offer. Interested investors should contact the Joint Lead Managers or their financial advisor to request a copy of the Investment Statement.
• ANZ National Bank Limited: 0800 269 476, www.anz.co.nz/ipo
• First New Zealand Capital Securities Limited: 0800 005 678, www.firstnzcapital.co.nz
Applications for bonds can only be made using the application form included in the Investment Statement. No applications for bonds issued by Greenstone will be accepted or money received unless the subscriber has received the Investment Statement for the offer. The minimum application amount in respect of the bonds is $5,000.
Contact:
Jonathan Hill, Corporate Communications Manager: 04 498 0212
Greenstone confirms second new retail site
20 July 2010Greenstone Energy, the New Zealand company that in April purchased the retail and distribution assets of Shell New Zealand, today confirmed it will invest in a new retail site in Auckland.
The new service station is the second retail investment commitment that Greenstone has made since April. The new site will cost up to $2 million to develop and will be located on the corners of Taharoto and Northcote Roads, opposite the Smales Farm complex.
Greenstone Chief Executive Mike Bennetts said the signing of the lease was another demonstration of Greenstone’s commitment to investment in New Zealand and to growth.
“We have signed the lease, secured the required resource consents and expect to have the site serving Auckland motorists in October,” he said.
The site was formerly operated as a retail service station by a competitor and closed in July 2009.
Mike Bennetts said the site would require an extensive amount of work including re-tanking, the latest Shell branding and a major upgrade to the retail shop, bringing a top class service station back to the people of the North Shore.
“Shell Lakeside, as the site will be known, is a very important addition to our North Shore retail network. We expect this to be an extremely busy site that will serve the growing North Shore area very well indeed.”
Jonathan Hill
Communications Manager
Greenstone Energy considers retail bond issue
13 July 2010Greenstone Energy today confirmed it is considering a retail bond issue.
Greenstone is the New Zealand company which in April 2010 acquired the retail and distribution assets formerly owned by Shell New Zealand.
Greenstone Chief Executive Mike Bennetts said documentation on a bond issue was currently being developed.
He said while a final decision on a bond issue had yet to be taken, any bonds would likely mature from 2016 onwards. Any issue would be of secured bonds with bondholders sharing the same security as Greenstone's banks, on an equal ranking basis.
Mike Bennetts said an issue would look to raise in the order of $100 million which would be used to repay bank debt.
A final decision on a retail bond issue would likely be made by the end of July at which point all documentation would be finalised.
No money is currently being sought and no applications for the bonds will be accepted or money received unless the subscriber has received an investment statement.
Jonathan Hill
Corporate Communications Manager
Calling New Zealand....
17 June 2010What are key ingredients of a world-class Kiwi company?
For Greenstone Energy, which took over the ownership of the Shell retail and distribution business in April, two critical ingredients are world-class customer service and investing in New Zealand and its people.
In recognition of the value of investing in local jobs and delivering excellent customer service, Greenstone today signed a contract which will bring the company’s call centre in the Philippines back to New Zealand, creating around 12 fulltime Kiwi jobs.
Since April, Greenstone has created a total of 40 new Kiwi jobs, mostly through bringing previously outsourced roles back to New Zealand.
As part of Greenstone’s commitment to building ‘in-country expertise’, roles in treasury management, marketing, asset management and credit functions that were previously undertaken elsewhere are now back ‘in-house’ here in New Zealand.
Chief Executive Mike Bennetts said Greenstone has important points of difference from its competitors. “We’re locally owned and operated, the returns from our business are retained here for the benefit of New Zealanders and, while competitors are moving jobs offshore, we’re creating jobs and investment in New Zealand.
“While Shell was previously paying for these roles globally, as local owners we are now in a position to keep these costs and benefits within New Zealand.”
Mike Bennetts said being able to demonstrate a tangible commitment to New Zealand was being welcomed by staff, customers and suppliers and he expected Greenstone’s unique position in the New Zealand market would deliver competitive advantage.
He said while Greenstone was directly creating new jobs, it would prefer to partner with leading New Zealand companies, and this was the approach behind the company’s contract with the award-winning call centre provider, Telnet. Telnet is one of New Zealand’s largest privately owned call centres and employs 160 Kiwi staff in Queen Street, Auckland.
Telnet founder and chief executive John Chetwynd says today’s announcement demonstrates Greenstone’s commitment to New Zealand and also marks the beginning of a trend whereby corporates are bringing their call centre operations to New Zealand.
“Both Greenstone and Telnet agree that being Kiwi-owned counts for little if it’s not backed up by world-class performance. We work hard on delivering cost efficiencies alongside cutting-edge technology and friendly staff, delivered locally. It’s this combined strategy that is paying off for Telnet.”
Telnet is currently recruiting for Greenstone’s call centre roles in Auckland. The Greenstone call centre will be running in New Zealand from 1 August 2010.
Jonathan Hill
Corporate Communications Manager
Greenstone appoints Integral Axon as IT service desk provider
3 June 2010Greenstone Energy, the New Zealand company which now owns and operates the Shell-branded retail fuel business, has appointed Integral Axon as its IT service desk and desktop support provider.
Integral Axon was selected by Greenstone Energy as a result of a detailed market process.
General Manager of Transition and Operations, Rhoda Holmes, said Integral Axon has a sound business model with the flexibility to develop unique, tailored solutions around Greenstone's IT requirements.
"Integral Axon is a wholly New Zealand-owned provider which is important to us, but more importantly they demonstrated a flexible, nimble approach to meeting our business needs.
"As we set about building a world-class Kiwi company and laying the foundations for future growth, it is important that we work with an IT services supplier that can grow and develop with us and meet our changing needs," said Mrs Holmes.
"Integral Axon had the right skills and the right scale to best meet our needs."
Integral Axon was formed as the result of the acquisition of Axon Computer Systems by Integral Technology Group on 1 May 2010. The merger has created New Zealand's largest privately-owned ICT services company with revenues approaching $150 million, around 360 staff and offices located in Wellington, Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch.
Chief Executive of Integral Axon, Ray Noonan, said that achieving ongoing close alignment in the style of service delivery that Integral Axon will provide is as important as the services themselves.
“The strong value and business outcomes focus of Greenstone’s business resonates well with us.
“Integral Axon is committed to supporting Greenstone in ways that enable their users to focus more on delivering quality and profitable services to the market. Together, this will make us both highly successful.”
Greenstone Energy confirms new executive team
10 May 2010Greenstone Energy, the company which owns and operates the former Shell downstream retail fuel and distribution assets, has confirmed a number of appointments which now complete the new company’s executive team.
Greenstone Energy is jointly owned by Infratil and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and is a New Zealand-owned national service station network.
Greenstone Energy Chief Executive Mike Bennetts said the company had been working to secure a number of key staff during the process of purchasing Shell’s assets and he was pleased to have the new Greenstone executive team in place.
“As we work to build a strong Kiwi brand it is important that we have the right people on the team with the right mix of skills. This executive team provides Greenstone with the depth and capacity to enable us to maximise this unique opportunity.
“This new team will enable us to differentiate Greenstone Energy, while continuing to provide the operational excellence which our customers expect and deserve,” he said.
The Greenstone executive team consists of (* marks new external appointments):
Lindis Jones - General Manager, Corporate*
Lindis has been the Head of Property at ANZ National Bank since August 2007, leading a number of significant property transactions and developments in New Zealand.
Prior to joining ANZ National, Lindis was with Shell for 13 years, primarily in retail operations and strategy in Europe, Asia and New Zealand.
Lindis graduated from Otago University with Bachelor degrees in Science and Economics. While based in London he obtained a Master of Finance from London Business School.
Huma Faruqui – General Manager, Capability and Organisational Development*
Huma worked in HR roles in the UK for six years before moving to New Zealand in late 2003. Her career in the UK spanned several blue chip organisations including Deutsche Bank, Cater Allen/Abbey National Bank and Deloitte.
In New Zealand, Huma has worked for Vero Insurance and, most recently, with Telecom in HR leadership roles with each of Telecom’s strategic business units. She has been leading organisational development initiatives within Telecom around values, engagement and change.
Huma graduated from Bournemouth University with a degree in Financial Services, before moving into a career in HR, subsequently gaining her Grad CIPD, and a post graduate certificate in management studies. Huma is also a certified practitioner in many recognised psychological assessment frameworks.
David Robinson – General Manager, Commercial
David joined Shell in 1994 and for the past 16 years held a variety of commercial roles in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. These roles have included area management roles, general management of subsidiary companies, marketing fuels and lubricants in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, and global brand management. David is a director of the Greenstone subsidiary Mini Fuels and Oils Limited.
David is responsible for all business to business activities including the key industry sectors of Aviation, Marine, Bitumen, Chemicals, Bulk and Shell Card Fuel. A key focus for the Commercial Team is ensuring that the value propositions offered to business customers are world class in terms of reliability and innovation and that strong customer relationships are maintained.
David graduated from Massey University with a Bachelor of Arts and the University of Queensland with a Graduate Certificate in Management. He originally hails from the metropolis of Wanganui.
Mark Forsyth - General Manager, Retail
Mark is responsible for the safe and profitable operation of Greenstone's more than 200 service stations and nearly 100 truckstops in New Zealand, as well as holding company-wide responsibility for marketing, brand and asset management across the business.
Mark is also a Director of Loyalty New Zealand Ltd.
Mark has previously held management positions with Shell in New Zealand, the UK and Ireland and with various other companies in New Zealand, Australia and the UK in the property development, telecommunications and logistics industries.
Born and raised in Auckland, Mark was educated in New Zealand prior to graduating from the University of New South Wales with a Bachelor of Commerce degree.
Rob Freeman – General Manager, Supply and Distribution
Rob has been involved with the Shell group since 1987. Over that period Rob has held a number of senior management roles in Shell Australia, particularly in commercial marketing, services, distribution and logistics.
Rob moved to New Zealand in 2007 and is responsible for the fuel supply distribution chain, from sourcing crude and refined product from international markets to domestic distribution and supply of fuel products to customers.
Rob is the current chair of New Zealand Oil Services Ltd and a director of Wiri Oil Services Ltd.
Rhoda Holmes – Transition and Operations*
Rhoda worked for Infratil in the lead-up to the purchase of Greenstone, building the new organisation’s transition and operations plan.
Rhoda has over 25 years of experience in the Information Technology and Telecommunications industry in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Currently running her own consulting business, Raghnall Ltd, she was formally the Chief Executive of Optimation New Zealand.
Previously, Rhoda was responsible for leading and transforming customer relationships at the helm of Telecom/Gen-i’s Trans Tasman ICT business. Rhoda has previously held roles leading both HR and Corporate Affairs.
Rhoda holds an MSC in Telecommunications Engineering and Business Management, and is a Director of Kordia Solutions and NZICT.
Jonathan Hill
Communications Manager
First step for first new Greenstone site
4 May 2010Greenstone Energy, the New Zealand-owned company which now owns and operates the retail and distribution assets formerly owned by Shell New Zealand, has confirmed it will build a new retail service station near Tauranga.
Greenstone’s General Manager of Retail, Mark Forsyth, said the new service centre will trade under the existing Shell brand and will sell quality Shell fuels, but, as with any Shell-branded retail business, the returns from the business will now stay here in New Zealand and benefit Kiwis.
Mark Forsyth said he believed there was competition from other fuel retailers for the site, but that strong support from the Greenstone Board and the flexibility to make rapid decisions in New Zealand rather than seeking offshore approval had contributed to the Greenstone success.
Greenstone Energy is jointly owned by Infratil and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and owns and operates the New Zealand-owned national network of service stations.
Mark Forsyth said this week Greenstone had signed the lease for the new site which will be built on State Highway Two, north of Tauranga in Bethlehem.
“The area is one of the fastest growing population centres in the country and this development will provide world-class fuels and retail convenience services to travellers in the area as well as to locals.
“We expect to begin construction in June and have the site complete and trading by October. The site will be operated by Greenstone’s local retailers, Dave and Lynette Gillies.”
Greenstone holds resource consents for the site. The new service station will create around a dozen local jobs and will involve around 70 local jobs during construction.
Mark Forsyth said the new service centre would be the first Greenstone development, representing a multi million investment in the local and New Zealand economies.
“This will be a fantastic asset for the region and we’re delighted to have the opportunity to kick off what will be the first of a number of strategic investments in New Zealand’s energy future,” he said.
Jonathan Hill
Communications Manager
Infratil and Guardians of NZ Superannuation Agree the Purchase of Shell NZ Downstream Assets
29 March 2010A consortium owned 50% by Infratil Limited and 50% by the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation today announced it had executed a sale and purchase agreement for the acquisition of Shell New Zealand's distribution and retail businesses and 17.1% interest in the New Zealand Refining Company. The agreement is scheduled to complete on April 1, 2010. The agreement remains conditional on the drawdown of bank facilities (the relevant bank facilities agreement has been signed) and finalising certain third party consents.
The base purchase price is $696.5 million plus an adjustment for actual net working capital in excess of $208 million at settlement date. Normal net working capital levels are estimated to average $250 million during a 12 month period.
In addition to an extensive retail network and commercial customer base, the acquisition includes NZ-wide distribution, storage, marine and aviation assets; the rights to use the Shell retail brand; a 25% share in Loyalty New Zealand (Fly Buys); and the ongoing supply of Shell fuels and products.
Total equity provided by Infratil and the NZ Superannuation Fund will amount to $420 million with the balance of the purchase consideration bank funded. The banks are also providing a working capital facility to accommodate the fluctuating inventory of the business.
This transaction has taken almost a year to conclude and follows very extensive due diligence. A comprehensive transition plan has been developed to ensure the business continues to reliably provide excellent products and services to New Zealand motorists and commercial customers. It will trade under the name of Greenstone Energy Limited.
The businesses being acquired have been built up by Shell over almost a century and their decision to sell due to changes in the global oil market has presented a "once in a generation" opportunity said Marko Bogoievski, CEO and Managing Director, Infratil.
"The goal from here is to continue to provide high-quality fuels at competitive prices and to leverage the benefits of a New Zealand owned and managed downstream business".
Over the last year Infratil has divested approximately $400 million of assets and with this transaction, will have invested over $400 million in new assets. The transactions leave Infratil with a more focused portfolio of investments that is well placed to generate good returns for its shareholders on both a short term and longer term basis.
Letter of Intent Signed for the Sale of Shell NZ Downstream Assets
21 December 2009Infratil, Shell New Zealand and the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation announced that a letter of intent has today been signed relating to the potential acquisition of Shell New Zealand's downstream assets by Infratil and the Guardians.
The letter was signed by Shell's country chairman for New Zealand Rob Jager, Infratil's Chairman David Newman and Guardians' Chair David May.
The Letter of Intent is not an acquisition contract. However it does represent Infratil and the Guardians' clear intention to proceed to acquire Shell's New Zealand downstream assets if relevant pre-requisites are met including the securing of third-party approvals. A further update will be provided in due course.
Shell New Zealand Limited
3 November 2009Morrison & Co. has today confirmed that an Infratil Limited and New Zealand Superannuation Fund consortium has entered into exclusive negotiations with Shell over the possible acquisition of Shell New Zealand's refining and downstream (distribution and retailing) businesses.
The scope of the proposed transaction includes but is not limited to a 17.1% stake in the New Zealand Refining Company, Shell New Zealand's supply and distribution infrastructure and it's retail and B2B fuel business.
The consortium has submitted a non-binding conditional proposal to Shell and has entered into the final phase of due diligence. Discussions and negotiation will continue during November and further advice on the status of the discussions will be provided as material developments occur. No further comment will be made at this time.
Marko Bogoievski
CEO
