Shanghai CRED Buys Peppers Carrington Resort in New Zealand

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

One of the largest real estate developers in Shanghai has purchased Peppers Carrington Resort in New Zealand. Shanghai CRED Real Estate, the new Chinese owner of the Peppers Carrington Resort, has committed to invest millions of dollars over the next years to help the resort reach its full potential.

Simon Jones, current general manager, has been appointed as CEO of the resort and its associated companies. Jones said that great attention will be paid to environmental considerations in all future developments to be carried out. The focus will be to preserve native bush and wetlands, which add to the attractiveness of the property, while also taking into account the interests of the local community.

“As tourist numbers grow and further development is undertaken, job numbers will increase and we will be employing local people wherever possible,” said Simon Jones.

Located in New Zealand’s North Island, four hours north of Auckland in the Northland region, Peppers Carrington Resort is situated on more than 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) looking over the Pacific Ocean and includes a vineyard and a golf course designed by Matt Dye. Peppers is part of the largest Australian based resort operator, Mantra Group.

“It is a significant time in the evolution of the Peppers brand as the network is set to expand in the Asia Pacific, so to see this level of interest in foreign investment from an established group like Shanghai CRED is an encouraging sign for the brand and tourism in general,” said CEO Bob East.

Shanghai CRED Real Estate focuses on creating and marketing resorts with a special focus on integrated property development and has a record of more than 50 successfully completed projects and is currently working on eight projects totaling 1.4 million square meters (approximately 15 million square feet). Shanghai CRED Real Estate plans to promote Peppers Carrington Resort, with its vineyard and 18-hole golf course to high-income Chinese tourists. It will also increase the promotion of the resort and its facilities to New Zealanders and other international tourists.

“We will promote Peppers Carrington through our own resorts and our many contacts in tourism in China,” added Shanghai CRED’s General Manager, Guo Gui.

The developer also intends to upgrade and expand the existing 188-hectare (464-acre) vineyard, which is already exporting to China. The farming and quarrying operations will continue and a trial manuka oil extraction plant will be built.