Wine scheme to go ahead
Farmers Mutual Group's (FMG) Crossing vineyard in Marlborough is going ahead despite the recent capital raising falling short by about $3 million.
Last year FMG decided to develop The Crossings, an internationally-focussed vineyard and winery in the Awatere Valley, by combining its two existing vineyards, Medway and Brackenfield, and buying additional land.
To help finance the deal, The Crossings sought to raise about $7 million through a share and preference share issue. However, only about $4 million was raised when the offer closed just before Christmas.
FMG chief executive Michael Millar says the full amount wasn't raised because of the soggy equity market, plus an unfavourable report in one of the weekly business papers.
He says $7 million was a reasonably big ask, especially in the conditions which existed at the time.
While the offer fell short of the target, it isn't likely to have a major impact of the viability of the project.
Millar says it was originally intended that The Crossing would be debt-free, but now it will, in all likelihood, have to raise some finance from the banks.
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