WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s biggest commercial nursery placed on the market for sale. The land, buildings and business making up New Zealand’s biggest commercial wholesale plant and shrub nursery have been placed on the market for sale. Growing Spectrum is a 9.635 hectare ‘all-in-one’ seedling, nursery and potting operation at Kihikihi near Te Awamutu in Southern Waikato. The business grows more than half-a-million plants for sale annually – supplying virtually all of New Zealand’s garden centres and selected home improvement mega store outlets. The family owned and operated business was established 40 years by husband and wife horticultural entrepreneurs Peter and Carol Fraser. It now employs 36 full-time staff, with the company’s sales growing consistently over the past three completed financial years – reaching $4.76 million in the 2015/2016 period.
The freehold land, buildings, and Growing Spectrum business are being jointly marketed for sale by Bayleys Auckland and Bayleys Hamilton. Salespeople Paul Dixon and Carolyn Hanson said 95 percent of Growing Spectrum’s stock was sold to retail garden centres and DIY megastores, with the remaining small volume sold directly to landscaping firms and local bodies. Its leafy products are found in some 161 outlets throughout New Zealand. Mr Dixon said that in addition to the stock grown on-site at Kihikihi, some 60 percent of product was also grown under contract. “The company and its directors are focused on producing premium quality plants to the New Zealand market, and over the space of 40 years, has achieved industry-wide respect for maintaining this focus,” he said.
