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December 10, 2007 |
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MOWBRAY COLLECTABLES: U.S. Investor Buys More Than 5% Stake A major United States investor -- the Houston-based Commonwealth Australia and NZ Fund -- has bought up a large chunk of Mowbray Collectables, a regulatory filing with the New Zealand Stock Exchange discloses. Stamp dealer and auction house Mowbray Collectables has confirmed that the Fund has now acquired more than 5% of the company's shares. “They are now a significant shareholder and they our first major overseas institutional investor,” Managing Director John Mowbray said. “This is encouraging for us and it's positive for the market. We are pleased they are on board and we will be watching their movements closely next year.” The fund was created in 1991 and its previous name was Capstone New Zealand. It has a successful record of investing in smaller New Zealand shares. In October, the Mowbray International stamp auction achieved hammer sales of NZ$1.2 million creating a new revenue record. In Australia, Bonhams & Goodman (20 percent owned) achieved NZ$3 million turnover at their November sale and the Stanley Gibbons sale in Sydney on November 28 returned a NZ$1 million sale. Mowbrays have been auctioning for 30 years and they have the record for the most expensive stamp sold in New Zealand -- a 1903 Taupo 4d stamp (with inverted centre) bought by NZ Post for NZ$125,000 for an investment. John Mowbray International is the largest stamp auction house in New Zealand. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mowbray Collectables, Australasia's largest stamp dealer. The company reported net deficits after taxation of NZ$186,791 and NZ$151,526 for the years ended March 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively. |
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