Specialist Property Financier Restructures

May 19, 2004

Specialist Property Financier Restructures And
Plans Expansion

Statement made by Simon Lindsay, Marketing Director,
New Zealand Home Bonds Limited

The founding shareholders of New Zealand Home Bonds Limited, Peter Rudkin and Simon Lindsay, have bought out the 75% shareholding in the company held by Hanover Financial Services Limited and Strategic Finance Limited for an undisclosed sum.

The two executive directors retain a 50% holding in the country’s largest specialist property deposit financier. They have recapitalised the company and sold the remaining shareholding to private Christchurch based investors.

Mr Murray Blackmore of Christchurch, previously a banking lender and an experienced property investor, has joined the board.

Under this new structure, bonds provided by the company are underwritten by Lumley General Insurance ( NZ ) Limited. Lumley has a Standard & Poors A- credit rating and has exposure to this business through its Australian counterpart.

This Lumley support marks the next stage of growth of NZ Home Bonds Ltd as a provider of deposits in the apartment and residential property market. The Lumley underwrite enhances bank acceptance of the company’s bonds when those deposits are needed to support the developer’s construction finance.

The company’s current core business is assisting apartment buyers purchase off the plans by providing bonds to cover their deposit obligations. When the apartments move to the settlement stage the company involvement comes to an end with the banks or brokers providing standard mortgage finance.

NZ Home Bonds see their deposit facilities evolving to provide deposits to residential buyers of existing properties looking for an easy and quick solution to their deposit obligations.

The relatively short term nature of deposit facilities is not core to the business directions of Hanover or Strategic. Both have always been supportive shareholders, and in exiting will continue to nominate NZ Home Bonds as their preferred deposit provider for their client’s projects.

ENDS

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