11 Dec 2023

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Councillors will consider a report on options for the future management of the Council’s key commercial organisations within Christchurch City Holdings group.

CCHL and Councillors have held a series of workshops, following direction from the Council for CCHL to develop a detailed business case for more active management of the portfolio. 

In 1993 Christchurch City Holdings Limited (CCHL) was formed by Christchurch City Council as its commercial arm to manage a portfolio of Council-owned companies.

The Council, on behalf of all ratepayers, owns through CCHL a portfolio of six significant local businesses. Four are 100 per cent owned companies:

  • Lyttelton Port Company
  • Enable Services
  • City Care
  • EcoCentral

Two are majority owned:

  • Orion New Zealand
  • Christchurch International Airport

The CCHL Board has subsequently identified two options:

  • Active portfolio management, which is recommended by the CCHL Board, would require the Council to give CCHL a more flexible mandate to invest and divest, within agreed guidelines, with the expectation of greater returns.
  • Enhanced status quo would mean CCHL continues to operate within its existing mandate and with its existing assets, while trying to improve returns over time through stronger management and operational improvements.

The report is seeking guidance from Councillors on which option they would like to pursue.

The report also identifies that any decision to have more active portfolio management would require special consultation under the Local Government Act.

The advice to Councillors is that this would be best achieved as a stand-alone Special Consultative Procedure rather than combined with the consultation on the 2024-34 Long Term Plan.

Read the full report here. 

Watch the Tuesday 12 December briefing to Councillors here.