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Following the completion of a corporate restructure Heartland Group has announced it has begun listing on the ASX.
The restructure saw Heartland Group Holdings Limited become the new parent company of reverse mortgage provider Heartland Seniors Finance, as well as New Zealand registered bank Heartland Bank.
Heartland Group will begin trading under a Foreign Exempt Listing, which is expected to expand the capital sources available in order to provide additional flexibility for future growth opportunities. Heartland Group’s primary listing will remain on the NZX Main Board.
Heartland Bank became a registered bank in 2012, following the merger of four financial service entities.
Its strategy is to operate in niche markets where it can provide the ‘best or only’ product and to increase its customer reach through online channels and its intermediary, partner and referrer networks.
Heartland Bank’s core areas of focus are small business lending, reverse mortgages, motor vehicle finance, livestock finance and savings & deposits.
Heartland entered the Australian reverse mortgage market in 2014 with the acquisition of reverse mortgage provider Australian Seniors Finance, which it subsequently rebranded to Heartland Seniors Finance.
Since then, Heartland has achieved significant growth in this business, with net finance receivables growing from $380m at acquisition to $619m at the end of the 2018 financial year.
The group expects this growth to continue as other major providers of reverse mortgages recently exited the market.
The restructure and the ASX listing are significant milestones for the group. The restructure removes constraints on growth previously arising from Reserve Bank of New Zealand regulations, and will provide greater flexibility to explore and take advantage of future growth opportunities in New Zealand and Australia outside the banking group.
The corporate restructure took effect on 31 October, with all of the shares in Heartland Bank being exchanged for shares in Heartland Group, and Heartland Bank becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Heartland Group.
In addition, the Australian group companies were transferred from Heartland Bank to Heartland Group.
