Lakeview: Part 2. The project's 25% NZ partner has pulled out.

The Australian's Overseas Investment Office consent will now come under scrutiny.

Analysis.

This investigation, funded by Crux paid subscribers, examines how a $2 billion Australian luxury property development in the centre of Queenstown started life as a “risk free investment” by the Queenstown Lakes District Council. In ten parts we will tell the story of how a large piece of ratepayer owned prime real estate, valued at $42 million in 2017, was turned into a black hole that so far has cost ratepayers over $100 million, increased rates and may not get built. Crux also acknowledges the role of Google’s Pinpoint investigative journalism tools and will publish, in the public interest, each part without a paywall three days after paid subscribers receive this content.

Crux has discovered today (June 21) that the major New Zealand partner in the controversial $2 billion Queenstown Lakeview project pulled out of the project only 10 days ago.

This is in spite of detailed questions to the Queenstown Lakes District Council this week from Crux about the lack of construction activity at the Lakeview site. Their reply: “There are no significant changes.”

• The Lakeview site this week - prime Queenstown land, with $75 million of ratepayer money spent on underground council services, but abandoned for the past year.

The withdrawal of Centuria Lakeview Holdings Ltd, who owned 25% of the Lakeview project, may now raise questions about the Overseas Investment Office approval of the Lakeview project.

The Centuria shares passed back to NFF QT Development PTY Ltd in Australia who now own 100% of the Lakeview shares.

NFF is Ninety Four Feet, an Australian property developer where ownership and financial records are heavily shrouded by various Unit Trust structures. In fact the Australians told the Overseas Investment Office in their initial application that “no financial statements or accounts are available.”

Under the OIO rules, consent given to an overseas entity is reviewed if there is a change in ownership and a substantial piece of land or a large business asset is involved.

So who runs and owns Ninety Four Feet?

Ninety Four Feet is an unusual company in that it is owned by two private individuals.

They build big projects but recently put a large Auckland hotel on the market, shortly after building it. Industry analysts speculated they needed the cash for Lakeview, and the OIO application has revealed that the developers would be primarily relying on bank finance to build Lakeview beyond the first stage.

Australian company records show the owners of NFF QT Development PTY Ltd are Henry Rzechta, born in 1948 in Haifa, Israel and Benjamin Harkham born in 1948 in Baghdad, Iraq. Each owns 50% of NFF QT Development PTY Ltd.

• Henry Rzechta of Ninety Four Feet in 2015.

Crux can find no images of Mr Ben Harkam, but an Australian real estate site noted in March 2024:

“A classic Bellevue Hill mansion owned by one of the Eastern Suburbs’ wealthiest families has come to market for the first time in almost four decades.

“The Harkham clan has real estate interests around the world, but most notably a consortium in the family’s name was the long-term owner of Noah’s Backpackers at Bondi Beach.” Noah’s sold for $68 million.

• The Harkham mansion was valued at around $25 million.

The exit of Centuria from the Queenstown Lakeview deal may have widespread repercussions for the Queenstown Lakes District Council.

It appears that most of the Kiwi expertise, experience and local investment influence lay with Centuria (and originally with Augusta Capital - acquired by Centuria).

In fact a Lakeview ownership chart shows a near total dependence on the Centuria network for Lakeview’s access to NZ funding and operational partners.

• At the centre of the Lakeview consortium was NZ board member and Centuria CEO Mark Francis.

Mark Francis, who founded Augusta and now runs Centuria, resigned as a director of NFF QT Development PTY Ltd on June 4th, 2025 with Centuria’s shares being transferred on June 10. It’s not known if the shares were sold, surrendered or swapped for other assets.

• Centuria’s CEO Mark Francis. The Lakeview ownership chart shows that even though Centuria only owned 25% of the Lakeview project their local influence and connections ran very deep.

• Going by this detail from the Lakeview ownership chart, things will be tough without Mark Francis on board.

Councillor Niki Gladding has been watching Lakeview for years.

It’s not just Crux that has been asking about Lakeview recently.

Councillor Niki Gladding also ramped up her questions to the QLDC this week and has been told that all of her Lakeview questions will be treated as under LGOIMA legislation that gives the council 20 days to answer. It’s generally accepted that elected councillors should not have to go through lengthy official information channels to get information from council staff.

Crux understands that councillors received an email as far back as December 2024 from QLDC CEO Mike Theelen stating the Ninety Four Feet was “in discussions with one of its equity partners.”

Mr Theelen confirmed in March, to councillors, that the equity partner was Centuria. This would come as no surprise given that Centuria is the only equity partner of Ninety Four Feet.

Niki Gladding has already obtained a number of key Lakeview documents using Official Information Act legislation.

On a visit to Lakeview this week Crux found no sign of any construction activity, even though work was supposed to get underway years ago. The documents seen by Crux today confirm that Ninety Four Feet uses the figure of $75 million in their OIO application for the purchase of the Lakeview land.

• Will it get built? Lakeview’s $2 billion project is already delayed by years.

What they don’t seem to mention to the OIO is that the QLDC gave them 20 years to pay that money. It’s also now evident that it cost Queenstown ratepayers slightly more than $75 million to get the land ready for Ninety Four Feet.

It’s not clear what happens contractually if Ninety Four Feet decides not to go ahead with Lakeview.

Part 3 of our Lakeview investigation will be published shortly.