Sir Michael Fay has sold a prestigious piece of Martinborough property he has owned since 1993.
The 4273ha Lagoon Hill Station went on the market late last year and was put out to international tender despite the government tightening the rules for selling to overseas buyers. The station situated between Martinborough and the Wairarapa coastline, comprises a sheep and beef farm, a 1360ha plantation forest planted in pine, and a private hunting camp offering access to some of the best free-range red deer hunting in the North Island.
The buyer was Kauri Forestry LP, a joint venture between Craigmore Sustainables and German-based GlenSilva. The sale price was undisclosed.
The station is just a fraction of Fay’s property interests, which include dairy farms and co-ownership with his business partner David Richwhite in Great Mercury Island, which sits off the Coromandel Coast. Sir Michael’s address on the island has a 2017 rating valuation of $51m. They have spent $750,000, matching the same amount contributed by the Department of Conservation to make it pest-free, in a programme that kicked off in 2014.
He and Richwhite accumulated the majority of their wealth during the Rogernomics era of the fourth Labour government in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their companies were involved in several privatisations including Bank of New Zealand, Telecom New Zealand (now Spark) and Tranz Rail.
Both men left the country for Geneva in Switzerland after ill-feeling was stirred up against their investment vehicle Fay, Richwhite during the winebox inquiry, which dealt with, among other things, tax-avoidance arrangements in the Cook Islands.
Sir Michael returned some years later.
He was inducted into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame in 2002 for his efforts to back New Zealand’s first Cup bid in 1987. Sir Michael was also the chairman of the Manu Samoa rugby team, which he and Richwhite supported with a $5m investment over many years.
Sir Michael and Lady Sarah’s philanthropy extends to music in schools through the Play It Strange Trust, which supports the playing of ukuleles in schools. The Salvation Army and Women’s Refuge also benefit from their charitable activities. The Fays have a son James, who married Los Angeles-based model and actress Beau Dunn in 2017, and two daughters, Annabel, a pop artist, and Jessica.
Photo: NewsPixNZ
2018: $950 million