Quick Takes of the Week to June 12
In case you missed it: News bites for the week.
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Monday June 8
Synlait ‘on track’ to refinance bank debt
Milk processor Synlait has agreed new loan terms for its $130 million debt to shareholder Bright Dairy as negotiations on refinancing bank debt continue.
In a statement to the NZX, Synlait said the new Bright Dairy loan was required by its bank lenders, whose loans are due for 
refinancing by June 30. Synlait said it was “progressing discussions with existing and new lenders” about refinancing the bank debt and was “on track” to complete a deal before the loans mature.
As of January 31 Synlait’s bank debt totalled $374m.
The Bright Dairy loan had been due for repayment on July 12. Synlait said the new terms were similar, the main difference being a two-year term instead of one-year with a one-year extension option.
Synlait also provided a trading update for January 1 to April 30, which produced a net loss of $12m and net assets at balance date of $720.8m.
Headwinds return for Steel & Tube
NZX-listed metal distributor and processor Steel & Tube says the war in the Middle East has hurt demand.
In an update this morning, the company said it was seeing early signs of recovery during the March quarter, but the conflict has introduced renewed uncertainty.
“Trading conditions remain variable and demand for steel has softened as headwinds return,” it said.
STU did not quantify the challenges but reiterated that trading throughout the rest of 2026 would be “variable”.
It also extended its banking facility with ANZ for another year, until September 2027, which it said would give it “headroom” and “operational flexibility”. Amended covenants have been agreed upon and are aligned with expected performance.
The directors are satisfied STU’s financing position remains sound, the company said.
STU’s slipped deeper into the red in the six months ended December, with the company taking on more more debt to fund its operations due to a drop in operating cash flow.
Justin Birch to leave ArborGen
ArborGen's vice-president of product development Patrick Cumbie will take on the role of interim chief executive after CEO Justin Birch announced his resignation today. Birch has been the CEO of the NZX-listed forestry genetics company for three years. In a statement the company said Birch had played an important role in strengthening its Brazil operations as well as navigating the challenges of the US market. The departure comes on the heels of an annual performance which saw a net loss after tax of $7.5 million, described as a "material improvement" on the prior year's $21.5m loss. That was despite an 8% increase in year-on-year revenue to $68.2m. Cumbie, described as a "seasoned forestry executive", has been with ArborGen since 2010.
Ryman calls on retail shareholders in $100m bond offer
Ryman Healthcare is launching a $100m retail bond offer to help pay down bank debt.
The six-year secured bonds will be issued at $1 each and will have an indicative margin range of between 1.8% and 1.9% a year over the swap rate, subject to a minimum rate of 5.6%. The issue margin and interest rate will be set following a bookbuild process.
The company will have the ability to accept up to $50m in oversubscriptions.
Ryman said the purpose of the offer is to diversify its funding sources and maturity dates, and the net proceeds would be used to repay a portion of its bank debt.
The offer closes on June 11, with the bonds to be issued on June 22. They will mature on June 22, 2032.
ANZ Bank, Craigs Investment Partners, Forsyth Barr and Westpac NZ are the joint lead managers of the bond offer.
National promises to boost funding for QEII National Trust
The National Party has committed to permanently doubling baseline funding for the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust, if elected again in November.
The funds would provide the Trust with long-term funding certainty and support its work alongside farmers and landowners. The baseline funding will rise from about $4.2 million to about $8.5m every year.
Leader Christopher Luxon said farmers had been protecting habitat on their own land, out of their own pocket.
“QEII is a unique conservation model: voluntary, practical, landowner-led, and offers some of the best-value conservation in the country. Every dollar the government puts in, farmers match many times over.
“More funding will support landowners with costs like fencing, surveying and legal work – costs that can often stop good projects from going ahead. We back farmers to know what is best for their land, they choose to protect important conservation areas, rather than having rules forced on them.”
Tuesday June 9
Tāiko lodges fast-track for its southern block mining project
Tāiko Critical Minerals has lodged a fast-track application to extract mineral sands from its privately owned farmland on the
southern block of its West Coast mining operation. TCM chief executive Robert Brand said the application follows resource consents for mining at its central block, for its wet concentrator plant at Barrytown Flats and for a mineral separation plant at Rapahoe. Brand said the southern block was an important stage of the project, allowing it to proceed with its "mine to market" strategy for refining lower value ore into high value minerals, for direct export to offshore customers. The NZX-listed company's core asset is held under its Barrytown mining permit covering 1250 hectares of coastal heavy mineral sands located about 30 kilometres from Greymouth. The south block extension extends to its Canoe Creek, Barrytown Farms and Cargill South blocks.
CityFitness fined $1.12m for Fair Trading Act breach
The Commerce Commission has fined CityFitness $1.12 million after finding the gym chain guilty of misleading customers about the price of its memberships and the reason for charging an additional fee. Between December 2023 and April 2025, CityFitness continued to advertise one of the cheapest gym memberships available, even after introducing a 3% compulsory fee that was inaccurately labelled as a transaction fee. ComCom deputy chair Anne Callinan said the gym was attracting customers by publicising a price that did not actually exist, and the 3% fee was charged to over 125,000 members creating about $1.6m of additional revenue. She added CityFitness created a misleading impression that the fee was related to choice of payment but the investigation found it was designed to lift revenue. Charges were filed against CityFitness in September following an investigation. CityFitness is considered New Zealand's biggest gym business, with an estimated 40% of market share.
Wednesday June 10
NBR Rich List Fukutake family divests Metro Magazine
The NBR Rich List Fukutake family have sold Metro Magazine to the owners of architectural magazine Here for an undisclosed sum. Here owners, Simon Farrell-Green and Hannah Kidd, announced the transaction in a statement this afternoon, saying it
Hideaki Fukutake.
represents a significant milestone since they launched their own magazine six years ago. “Here has shown you can thrive as an independent title – leading with your values and doing things with heart,” Kidd said. The Fukutake family office, Still, acquired Metro in 2023 as part of its plan to acquire 100 iconic businesses over 10 years and maintain them for 100 years. Still's Sam Johnstone said the company was delighted to support the new owners to build a consolidated magazine business that will see Metro continue.
The Post has previously reported that Still cut staff at the magazine, prompting others to resign, and that it “paused” its print run.
Still exited an energy company it bankrolled for a $1 last year, only for it to fail months later.
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