| 127 T T Virginia Wright Property investors with a small-business ethos Mackersy Property has a deep knowledge of commercial property. PROPERTY Mackersy Property Mackersy Property has its roots in Dunedin and, while it now has additional offices in Christchurch, Queenstown, Bay of Plenty and Waikato, the lower South Island is where the heart of its business remains. Now its CEO, commercial property lawyer Hamish Wilton joined the company in 2011 when it was still Mitchell Mackersy Lawyers, before the restructure in 2020, which saw it combine with Maori Hill Property. Then, as now, Hamish sees the company as more investor-centric than its competitors, with care taken to look after their interests as well as their portfolio. “Ron Mackersy is people-minded. His ethics and entrepreneurial vision are what underpins the company, which still values that personal touch. We’ve intentionally retained a small-business ethos with strong relationships with our investors and partners, despite having $2.2 billion dollars worth of assets under management,” says Hamish. Owned and run by a like-minded senior management team, Mackersy Property has a deep knowledge of commercial property investment drawn from 25 years of experience. Their clients are generally family trusts or private investors, many with surplus discretionary income or capital to invest as they approach retirement. With a minimum of $100,000 to work with and proof that they are an experienced investor, they gain access to properties generally too big for individuals or trusts, but too small for the large institutional investors or listed funds who tend to play in the $150 to $200 million dollar space, explains Hamish. “Our niche is generally regional, A-grade commercial property investments worth $5 million- plus, and we cover the investment process from beginning to end to ensure the best returns.” They focus on strong-performing, long-term investments selected with investors’ longterm passive income front of mind, as well as preserving and growing their capital. Their 25 years of expertise guides their decisions as they tailor individual investments; syndicate small to medium-sized assets for individuals or small groups, and establish multi-asset funds of up to $200m in value. Not only do they find and purchase selected buildings, which they pro-actively manage to protect the investments, they can be equity funders of development properties that meet their extensive criteria established with protecting their investors in mind. “In our development projects, we take a project from inception to completion, working directly with the developer, tenant and main construction partners to turn a green- or brown- field site into what can be quite sizeable projects, such as the recently opened Christchurch Fresh Distribution Centre for Woolworths, or the fully-automated Drury Logistics Warehouse for Cardinal Logistics,” says Hamish “Relationships are key in our business – with our investors and with our business partners and contractors. Without strong partnerships with local businesses supporting our investors’ assets, they wouldn’t be the solid long-term investment we seek.” While they are no longer strictly speaking a family-run business, given that they have a team of 42 staff across five offices, Mackersy Property still operates according to family values both internally and externally, with their staff and with their clients. The often long-standing relationships they have with their investors is central to what Mackersy Property offers. Many clients have been with them for over 20 years, and the relationship spans generations. That personal knowledge feeds into their successful investments along with their expertise as they offer end-to-end commercial property acquisition, investment and management solutions to wholesale investors in New Zealand and overseas.
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