Can Kerr be good for PGC?

George Kerr

This is a question well worth pondering and considering what has been written on this blog the answer might surprise you.

Yes, of course. In fact the man could be brilliant! That is what is at least to us such a striking irony. Why would anyone choose the path of most resistance when such an eloquent and more lucrative solution is right at hand. 

George Kerr did absolutely outstanding deals in Spicers and Brooks. Financial services are clearly his sweet spot and PGC fits the mould. He has a family connection with a company with an enviable history and publicity wise that could be turned into a huge advantage. It can be so easy to portray him in the light of the long lost next-of-kin that rides to the rescue of the family jewels. You can raise a lot of money on the back of that story. Throw in a nice old fashioned patriotic tale like “Let us start a thorough bred, home grown, all-New Zealand bank again”. How can rural Kiwi’s resist flocking to a bank like that? If you look over the assets of PGC as detailed in the Grant Samuel and Baobab reports then Perpetual Trust, Van Eyk and Torchlight has enormous potential. These are great assets, but they can be brilliant and Kerr has all the credentials to polish them up nicely. PGC could easily find a solid footing as a trans-tas financial group and can make a huge impact on the much larger Australian financial market. 

We understand that Kerr wishes to avoid the spotlight, but he can easily put together an outstanding credible and independent board. He can easily beef up the current management team with a story like the above and can do all of that and still be left largely to his own devices in running Torchlight. It is so easy to separate it all out and Pyne Gould is perfect for it. 

I do not mean the following in a condescending way, I really mean it. Why go through a lot of effort to put up a wooden bridge across the river when with a little more effort and a bit of clever planning you can put Harbour Bridge over St Mary’s? Why fret around in the private equity space when you can be king of the public markets?

The irony of it all…

Cheerio,

jA

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