Christchurch after bigger stake in airport as $800m port bill looms

Monday, 2 February 2026

Would Christchurch ratepayers consider increasing ownership of the city’s international airport, left, while selling Citycare and Enable?

The city council’s commercial arm has confirmed it will not sell any of Christchurch’s council-owned companies and is instead eyeing expansion – including a bigger stake in Christchurch Airport – as it looks for ways to pay for a major port project.

At its annual meeting in November, Christchurch City Holdings (CCHL) chairperson Bryan Pearson finally put a line through talk of CCHL itself selling assets, saying that was a decision for councillors and the community.

“The bottom line is CCHL cannot sell any assets, that is not our role,” he told shareholders, pointing to protections on the council’s strategic asset register that mean any sale would require public consultation and a formal council vote.

Pearson said CCHL saw its job as growing the city’s asset base, by investing more in what it already owns and, where it stacks up commercially, buying new assets.

“We must continue to invest, grow and develop so that, in the coming decades, citizens don’t look back on this time and realise decision-makers missed an enormous opportunity,” he said in a speech later released to The Press under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.

He singled out two big potential moves: a substantial expansion at Lyttelton Port Company and using CCHL’s pre-emptive rights to increase the city’s shareholding in Christchurch International Airport, which he argued could lift the value of the asset for ratepayers.

To pay for that future, Pearson warned it might still be necessary to “mobilise” capital from within the group by reviewing the portfolio, noting that not all assets are the same.

Bryan Pearson, chairperson of Christchurch City Holdings, says its role is to grow assets.

“If CCHL is to meet the investment challenge and capital requirements of the monopoly assets, it is essential the company, council and the community consider the CCHL balance sheet in a more nuanced manner,” he said.

He grouped the port, airport and lines company Orion as monopoly infrastructure that must stay fit for a growing region, and contrasted them with businesses such as Enable and Citycare, which operate in tougher, competitive markets where the community carries more of the commercial risk.

His comments come after a push in December from some councillors to look at selling Enable, the fibre broadband company, after potential investors described it as an “attractive asset”, although a core group on the council remained strongly opposed.

Lyttelton Port is developing an $800m terminal at Te Awaparahi Bay to handle larger ships and rising freight volumes.

Councillor Sam MacDonald floated a proposal to put Enable on the market, suggesting it could fetch about $1 billion, with the proceeds used to cut debt and set up a protected investment fund in response to the Government’s new rates cap.

Enable’s accounts show a profit of $41.1 million on revenue of $119.2m in the year to June 2025. It returned $25m of that to CCHL as a dividend, with further payments in interest and tax transfers also flowing back to its council owner, making it one of CCHL’s strongest earners.

Citycare Group is also performing strongly, with revenue of $580m and operating earnings of $26.8m in the 2025 financial year, up 28% on the previous year. It delivered a $13.3m shareholder return to CCHL through dividends and debt repayment, recorded a 23% return on invested capital, and has seen its equity value rise from $48m in 2020 to $149m.

CCHL now oversees about $6b worth of assets on behalf of the council, including Lyttelton Port Company, Christchurch International Airport, Orion, Enable, Citycare and recycling firm EcoCentral.

CCHL is eyeing a bigger stake in Christchurch Airport as part of its plan to expand the council’s asset base.

Together they delivered a $55m dividend to the council in the last financial year, alongside a 20% total shareholder return once capital gains, debt reduction and tax benefits are counted. The payouts help the council pay for services and keep rates lower than they otherwise would be.

Pearson made it clear the biggest calls on future capital are likely to come from the port and the airport.

Doubling down on these “must have” monopolies is in ratepayers’ long-term interests, even if the investment bill is steep, he said.

Lyttelton Port is developing a business case for a new $800m terminal at Te Awaparahi Bay to handle larger ships and rising freight volumes.

The port’s board signed off the investment case for the new terminal late last year, and the company has pencilled in January 2027 to start building the wharf – a timetable that depends on approvals and funding falling into place.

At the meeting, Lyttelton Port said it plans to seek approval for its business case from both CCHL and the city council. It also intends to set up a separate structure to manage delivery of the project.

CCHL will now work through funding options for the port expansion and any airport investment and report back to councillors.