EastPack, the largest post-harvest operator in the New Zealand kiwifruit industry and one of the country’s largest cooperatives, has been named Cooperative of the Year at the 2022 Cooperative Business NZ Awards.

EastPack Chief Executive Hamish Simson said: “We are delighted to be recognised as the 2022 Cooperative of the Year. The award reflects the hard work of many people including our loyal growers and committed staff.

Ticking both boxes in today’s environment of decade high inflation and increasing interest rates is challenging. Over the long-term, investors want to maintain the purchasing power of their savings and need positive real returns to achieve this. The challenge is that with inflation hitting more than 7% in the last year, the investment return currently needs to be high to fully compensate for this.

This is in an environment where most asset prices and business valuations are being tested. For many equity investments, it was a one-way bet higher since the 2007-2008 global financial crisis, with an extra kick of exuberance through Covid until around this time last year.

EastPack, the largest post-harvest operator in the New Zealand kiwifruit industry and one of the country’s largest cooperatives, today announced that it intends to raise $30 million via an issue of five-year subordinated Notes to New Zealand investors. EastPack will have the ability to take oversubscriptions of up to $10 million.

Lead underwriter and specialist primary sector investment company MyFarm Investments has underwritten $15 million of the capital raising. MyFarm is also the lead broker for the issue; the arranger is M C Capital Limited.