GYP Properties misses out on New Zealand land-buy deal

MAINBOARD-LISTED developer GYP Properties' plan to buy a plot of vacant freehold land in New Zealand has fallen through, with the agreement terminated on Friday, the board disclosed.

According to bourse filings, GYP failed to get consent for the transaction under New Zealand's Overseas Investment Act that was "on terms reasonably acceptable to the purchaser" - a key condition precedent for the NZ$6 million (S$5.4 million) agreement with land vendor The Lakes International Golf Course.

With the termination of the sale-and-purchase agreement, a related deal for The Lakes International Golf Course to buy five units in a GYP private home project was also scuppered.

GYP, formerly known as Global Yellow Pages, will now get a refund of its NZ$150,000 deposit for the 1.99-hectare site in Pauanui, where it had planned to build holiday housing.

Still, the board told shareholders that the axing of the agreements is not expected to materially affect consolidated net tangible assets and earnings per share for the year to June 30, 2020.

Watch-listed GYP, which moved from printing phone directories to investing in New Zealand real estate, closed down 0.1 Singapore cent or 0.9 per cent to S$0.11 before the news.