The family’s interest in agriculture is part of the legacy of the late Peter Spencer, who died in 2008. He was the younger son of Berridge Spencer, who inherited the Caxton paper empire and turned it into New Zealand’s largest pulp and paper producer.
Peter was a prominent framing and meat industry figure, with interest in meat company Affco. He was also involved in car assembly (Motor Holdings), financial services (Equitable Group), clothing (Alliance Textiles), machinery and vehicle imports (Caspex) and communications (Cellular Vision NZ).
Peter’s three sons, Chris, Michael and Howard (pictured), continue to be involved in various family businesses.
Howard is a director of Hyundai in New Zealand, as well as GS Group Services, a joint venture between the Spencer and Giltrap families. It distributes the Hyundai, Isuzu and Renault brands in New Zealand.
Chris, who lives in Sydney, was reported to have bought the Hope Harbour Marina on the Gold Coast from receivers in 2013 but otherwise keeps a low profile.
Michael helps oversee Zakara Investments, which owns almost half of Kawau Island. It has been battling with Auckland Council over changes to rural subdivision rules, which could affect residential development on the island.
The family maintains a low profile with its investments held in trusts.
Their last public move was in 2015, when they expanded their farming empire, picking up a group of farms originally destined to be sold to Chinese investors.
A Spencer family firm, Rimanui Farms, picked up the 14,000ha Lochinver Station near Taupo for an undisclosed price, thought to be near $70 million. It is believed to have spent another $40 million or so buying the Pinny family farms in Northland.
The farms, including seven dairy and three dairy support farms, total 3300ha and are the largest milk suppliers in Northland. Rimanui is now believed to own more than a dozen farms throughout New Zealand, including Erewhon, Springvale and Mangaohane Stations.