Welcome to Today in Business - Powered by Spark for Business, an experimental AI podcast by the New Zealand Herald.
Each weekday, we bring you five stories, the best of the New Zealand Herald business journalism, summarised and delivered by an AI voice as an easily digestible recap.
It's Thursday, August 14, 2025, and here are five stories you should know about.
Build-to-rent developer, Simplicity Living, plans a $500 million project for 600 apartments at Remarkables Park, Frankton, near Queenstown. It bought a 6.1-hectare site at 12 Lower Shotover Road from a company owned by Australian businessman Karl Jameson. Queenstown Lakes District Council values the land at $24 million, with annual rates of $27,000. Managing director Shane Brealey says it will be the company's largest development and first outside Auckland. Planned features include solar panels, rainwater harvesting, work-from-home spaces, and bike trail access. Resource consent has not been sought. The site lies near Queenstown International Airport and the planned gondola development.
In other news, Vista Group reported first-half revenue of $77 million, up 11 percent from last year, with recurring revenue also up 11 percent to $70.4 million. Software as a Service revenue rose 24 percent to $31.6 million. EBITDA increased 39 percent to $10 million, with margin improving from 10 to 13 percent. The company posted a loss before tax of $1.3 million, a 64 percent improvement. Chief executive Stuart Dickinson says demand for Vista Cloud continues to grow. Two new clients include Odeon Cinemas Group and Village Cinemas Australia. Vista shares rose one cent to $3.32 in early trading.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Commission has warned Kmart New Zealand over its "100% sustainably sourced cotton" claim, saying it could not be substantiated. Kmart admitted its "Better Cotton" was mixed with conventional cotton, meaning it could not confirm full sustainable sourcing. The commission says the claim potentially breached the Fair Trading Act. Kmart has removed the statement from its website. Commerce Commission general manager Vanessa Horne says greenwashing misleads consumers and disadvantages legitimate sustainable businesses. Kmart New Zealand is owned by Wesfarmers and reported a $106 million profit for the 2024 financial year, with revenue of $999.5 million, up 8.1 percent.
In a separate development, Grimshaw & Co has won an appeal, overturning a High Court ruling that found it negligent in advising Takapuna's Spencer-on-Byron apartment owners. The earlier judgment awarded over $3 million in damages, citing delayed repairs to the leaky building due to disputes over a $20.1 million settlement. The Court of Appeal ruled the High Court erred on findings of negligence and causation. The cross-appeal from the body corporate was also dismissed. The original litigation settled in 2013 against Auckland Council and builder Multiplex. The appeal decision requires respondents to pay Grimshaw & Co's legal costs.
Turning to banking, mortgage rate cuts continue as Kiwibank lowers its special one-year fixed mortgage rate by 10 basis points to 4.79 percent, matching ANZ and BNZ. Its special two-year fixed rate drops 6 basis points to 4.89 percent, with larger reductions on six-month terms. Special rates apply to those with a minimum 20% equity, and are also available for first home loan customers. Westpac also cut its one-year fixed rate to 4.79 percent and reduced rates on other terms, effective Friday. BNZ and ANZ made similar reductions earlier in the week. The Reserve Bank's next Official Cash Rate decision is due August 20, with market expectations of a 25 basis point cut from 3.25% to 3%.
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