Commercial Property Newsletter - February 2018 Cavell Leitch Spotlight - Rapaki Property Group Written by David Fitchett - Partner (Property) Throughout 2018 we would like to put a spotlight on how Cavell Leitch has been able to add value to some of the exciting projects our clients are undertaking. For more than 25 years Cavell Leitch has shared an immensely valued working relationship with Simon Henry, one of Christchurch’s largest industrial property investors, and his Rapaki Property Group. During this time Cavell Leitch has assisted Rapaki with the acquisition, development and leasing of a number of commercial and industrial sites in Christchurch, (including the former IRD building), Wellington and Auckland Some of Rapaki’s most recent projects that Cavell Leitch has assisted with include:
The cost of compliance Written by Emily Nind - Senior Associate (Property) The past few years have seen a number of law changes which have impacted our service with no real value added to the transactions we complete for our clients. To name but a few, there has been increased compliance with the introduction of the Bright line test and the associated land transfer tax statement, and an increased level of form filling has become the norm due to common reporting standards, and the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act (AML/CFT). It doesn’t stop there. Phase two of AML/CFT is due to come into force in July 2018 and will directly affect lawyers and as a result our clients. The purpose of AML/CFT is to identify money laundering and discourage those wishing to undertake such activities from doing so in New Zealand. This helps to ensure other jurisdictions have faith in our financial systems. From July 2018, lawyers will be expected to act as a “gatekeeper” as we are a service provider that undertakes a large amount of financial transactions. We are required to have processes and controls in place to recognise potential instances of money laundering which is then escalated to enforcement units who monitor such instances. Many of you who deal with banks may already be aware of the increased level of “due diligence” they undertake when dealing with new accounts (even for longstanding customers), law firms will now be subject to a similar level of scrutiny and compliance. In order to meet the requirements of AML/CFT law firms must:
These requirements will have an impact on how we deal with you as clients. For example, it may appear that we require a lot of detail to verify your identity even though we have worked with you over a number of years and understandably this could be cause for frustration. We hope understanding what we need to comply with will help explain an increase in scrutiny and we are working on processes that will make this increase in compliance workable for our clients.
Meet two members of our commercial property team:
Mike Parker - Partner Mike acts for a broad range of property investors and developers on all aspects of property, including sales, acquisitions, leasing, subdivisions, commercial developments and property finance. Mike prides himself on developing strong, enjoyable relationships with his clients, and providing them with commercial, timely and cost effective advice. Ann Maria - Senior Associate Ann-Maria works in our Property Team and acts in broad range of legal matters with an emphasis on commercial property transactions. Her practice includes a broad range of commercial/property matters including the sale and purchase of commercial properties, acquisitions and sale of businesses, commercial leasing and refinancing. Our commercial property experts; (front row) Stephen Brent, Janine Ballinger, Emma Turner, Ann Maria Buckley, Emily Nind and Lauren Jerard. (back row) Mike Parker, David Fitchett, Elliot Scott, Jeroen Vink and Tim Stevens. |