Ngāi Tahu Holdings Corporation

The Customer: Ngāi Tahu Holdings Corporation

Ngāi Tahu Holdings Corporation (NTHC) is the investment arm of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and has a diverse investment portfolio including interests in farming, property, seafood, and tourism. As at 30-Jun-23, NTHC had total assets of approximately $2.1b.

The Challenge: overcoming diverse portfolio challenges

NTHC was seeking a better understanding of their diverse portfolio of assets. Their assets are geographical spread from Rotorua to Bluff, encompassing remote locations that can require extensive travel and logistics planning. The diverse nature of their assets meant that a one-size-fits-all approach would not be feasible. The complexity of distinguishing between landlord and tenant assets in their property investment portfolio added another layer of difficulty, necessitating the need for a clear and precise asset management system.

Existing data was largely fixed asset register-based. NTHC sought a robust system to capture detailed asset information and assess the condition of their building assets, which range from high-grade commercial offices to remote farms and tourism sites.

The Solution: a tailored asset management approach

In their search for a strategic asset management partner, NTHC already had awareness of SPM Assets.

"We knew of other SPM Assets customers - the Christchurch City Council and the University of Canterbury," says NTHC Manager of Assets and Facilities, Richard Lipscombe. "They also had previous experience with our partner Spire Consulting, so we knew they offered value for money."

SPM Assets collaborated with NTHC and Spire Consulting to establish their business needs and develop a bespoke component reference library to reflect the wide variety of assets.

SPM Assets started the asset collection and condition assessment with a pilot project to ensure the database was set up correctly and to test the outcomes before expanding to the entire property portfolio. Given that farming is the second-largest portfolio with its unique characteristics, SPM Assets also completed a pilot assessment at one farm to ensure the survey outcomes met the high standards for asset data collection. This is a standard approach at SPM Assets, ensuring refined methods and precise results before broader implementation.

From August 2022 to February 2023, SPM Assets conducted surveys across both the North Island and South Island, covering locations from Rotorua to Bluff. A team of three experienced surveyors completed the work, the majority of sites surveyed falling on SPM’s Christchurch based surveyor.

SPM Assets believed from the beginning that NTHC asset management needs were a natural fit for our software. The more discussion there was about their needs for an asset management information system (AMIS), the clearer it became that SPM Assets was the logical choice. There was already data collected in a project database, which could be easily repurposed as NTHC AMIS solution.

The Results: enhanced forecasting and planning

The comprehensive data collection and integration into SPM Assets' AMIS enabled NTHC to develop reliable asset management plans direct from the software. These plans allowed for better forecasting of asset renewal and replacement requirements across their diverse portfolio, from high-country farms to inner-city offices and iconic tourism centres.

Key benefits include:

• Reliable data - well-surveyed asset condition data easily aligned with the SPM Assets system.
• Efficiency - fast and efficient creation of asset management plans.
• Comprehensive coverage - enhanced understanding and forecasting across all asset types and locations.

"We now have asset management plans in place that enable us to forecast with greater certainty the asset renewal and replacement requirements across the entire built asset portfolio," says Richard Lipscombe. "The ease of creating the AMIS through the SPM asset management system has sped up our planning and forecasting dramatically."

Additionally, Richard Lipscombe added that having reliable, well-surveyed asset condition data was of significant value. "We can efficiently generate asset management plans now," Richard explains.

NTHC’s focus on intergenerational investment aligns perfectly with SPM Assets' goal of improving built environments for generations to thrive. As the partnership evolves, both parties are committed to furthering their shared vision of sustainable and efficient asset management for the future.

If you'd like to discuss how we can help you achieve a comprehensive understanding of your organisation’s asset management portfolio, then don't hesitate to get in touch. We're here to help.