Given New Zealand’s love affair with motor vehicles, it is hardly surprising that transport operators such as Peter Coote have made a fortune moving millions of imported vehicles around New Zealand.
With transport veteran Mike Tibbs as executive chairman and minority shareholder, Coote owns 85% of The Car Distribution Group (CDG), which owns and manages more than 24ha of storage facilities for 10,000 vehicles throughout the country.
Established in 1962, CDG is the nation’s leading distributor for the motor vehicle industry using a fleet of 120 transporters to move more than 200,000 vehicles annually from depots in Auckland, Waikato, Wellington, Picton, Nelson and Christchurch. Long-distance haulage rates for a standard vehicle range from $300 between Auckland and Tauranga to $380 from Christchurch to Dunedin.
In addition to the transport revenue, Coote and Tibbs own a valuable portfolio of industrial properties worth more than $130 million. The jewel in the crown is a $50m head office complex in South Auckland covering 16ha with a floor area of 1.9ha. Another warehouse in Mount Wellington occupies 7.2ha and is worth $28m.
One of Coote’s early transport ventures was the acquisition of Provincial Freightlines based in Thames. The CDG stable now also includes Car Haulaways, Auckland Vehicle Deliveries, Haul Plus and Nationwide Transport.
A chartered accountant with a BCom, Coote was a prominent figure in the business community in the 1980s. His knowledge of logistics from an operational and strategic perspective saw him elected as a director at Ports of Auckland between 2002 and 2006, which was the same time he was also on the board of Capital Properties New Zealand.
Now in his late 70s, Coote and his wife Lizzie have lived in their $6.8m Parnell clifftop home for more than 45 years and also have a $5.5m getaway on Waiheke Island.