Victoria Young

Auckland

Editor at BusinessDesk

Editor at @businessdesk_nz based in Auckland.

Articles

NZSA weighs in on FNZ shareholder issue

1 week ago | businessdesk.co.nz | Victoria Young

New Zealand Shareholders Association chief executive Oliver Mander says the pending lawsuit against fintech FNZ is a reminder to minority shareholders to be clear about their rights. “The key point is if you are an employee shareholder, it might feel really good to be offered shares, but you have to understand what you are being offered.”FNZ declined to comment on the class action, which is expected to be filed next month by employee shareholders.
Inside Service Foods' mega-growth: From corner store to $500m

3 weeks ago | businessdesk.co.nz | Victoria Young

Aneil Balar was 4 years old when he started behind the counter of his parents’ corner store.Fast-forward more than 30 years and Balar and his family have grown that business to a $500 million revenue company, Service Foods.It’s likely one of the biggest firms you’ve never heard of, dubbed a “supermarket for businesses” as it sells wholesale and goes largely unnoticed, delivering in the wee hours of the morning to mostly restaurants and caterers.
My Net Worth: Marc Mitchell, investor and new NZ Breakers owner

3 weeks ago | businessdesk.co.nz | Victoria Young

Marc Mitchell recently bought the New Zealand Breakers basketball franchise with an investment consortium. He is married, and they have three children.I’m from Los Angeles. I grew up there and went to university at Stanford, where I met my wife, who is a dual citizen of the US and New Zealand.Her family is originally from Lower Hutt, but she grew up in San Francisco.
My Net Worth, Marc Mitchell, investor and new NZ Breakers owner

3 weeks ago | businessdesk.co.nz | Victoria Young

Marc Mitchell recently bought the New Zealand Breakers basketball franchise with an investment consortium. He is married, and they have three children.I’m from Los Angeles. I grew up there and went to university at Stanford, where I met my wife, who is a dual citizen of the US and New Zealand.Her family is originally from Lower Hutt, but she grew up in San Francisco.
On the Money: New Breakers investor’s other buy, Infratil and more

4 weeks ago | businessdesk.co.nz | Victoria Young

Olive a bit of that tooWhat else is new major NZ Breakers investor Marc Mitchell funding down under? It turns out the good oil for him is olive. Mitchell recently acquired Tara Iti Estate in Mangawhai from Anne and John Russell.The property is said to have 250 olive trees up by Tern Point, a stone’s throw from the very exclusive Tara Iti golf club.
What Apple has at stake in China

4 weeks ago | businessdesk.co.nz | Peter Griffin |Rebecca Howard |Victoria Young

By Rolfe WinklerPlanes filled with iPhones have been leaving the Chennai airport in southern India for months, a last-ditch effort by Apple to delay a tariff calamity.When President Trump last week ignited a trade war, it was clear that Apple could be hit hardest.
Chainsaws vs scalpels: The DOGE effect and a better way for NZ

1 month ago | businessdesk.co.nz | Peter Griffin |Rebecca Howard |Victoria Young

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative has sparked global debate about balancing disruptive reform with sustainable public sector innovation. In a panel discussion on The Business of Tech, experts Rob Campbell, Ben Reid, and Paul Quickenden critiqued Musk’s approach while proposing alternative strategies for New Zealand to drive efficiency in government while harnessing technologies like blockchain and AI.
FNZ extends controversial catch-up offer

1 month ago | businessdesk.co.nz | Victoria Young

Fintech FNZ has extended its deadline for “catch-up” equity offers, as employee shareholders say discontent grows.In March, the global fintech offered its class B shareholders a “catch-up” offer after it revealed their holdings could be massively diluted following its August capital raise of US$1 billion (NZ$1.7b)The shareholders, many of them longstanding FNZ employees in New Zealand, say the deadline for the offer is now extended, but real issues run deeper.“It’s not about having more...
The cost of over-regulated banking: $10b to $14.4b a year

1 month ago | businessdesk.co.nz | Pattrick Smellie |Rebecca Stevenson |Victoria Young

Over-regulation of the banking sector may be costing New Zealand between $10.1 billion and $14.4b in lost economic activity annually, say two of the most vocal critics of current banking regulation and competition settings.In a further submission to the finance and select committee inquiry into banking competition, former investment banker Andrew Body and lawyer Simon Jensen have used a complex but credible international model, known as GTAP, to arrive at their conclusion.“This is the result...
On the Money: Genesis, Bill Foley, Nicola Willis and more

1 month ago | businessdesk.co.nz | Victoria Young |Rebecca Stevenson

Watt a relief Usually, company directors don’t look forward to appearing before a parliamentary select committee, but for many Crown-owned companies, it’s part of the job.