PGG Wrightson

PGG Wrightson

Type	Public company
Traded as	NZX: PGW
Industry	Pastoral
Founded	November 2005
Headquarters	Christchurch, New Zealand
Key people	Mark Dewdney (CEO)
Products	Stock and station agent
Number of employees	2,100
Website	pggwrightson.co.nz

PGG Wrightson is an agricultural supply business based in New Zealand. It was created in 2005 through the merger of Pyne Gould Guinness Ltd and Wrightson Limited and has its roots in a number of stock and station agencies dating back to 1861. It is one of the major suppliers to the agricultural sector in New Zealand providing products such as seeds, grains, livestock, irrigation, farm equipment, insurance and financing. Although publicly listed in New Zealand on the NZX, PGG Wrightson has been majority owned by Chinese-based Agria Corporation (GRO, NYSE) since 2011.

History

The result of mergers within the stock and station agency industry in New Zealand, PGG Wrightson can trace its obvious ancestry back to 1861, with the establishment of Wright Stephenson & Co.

Notable stock and station agencies that have merged to form PGG Wrightson include

PGG Wrightson 2005

• Wrightson NMA 1972
  • Wright Stephenson & Co
  • National Mortgage and Agency Company of New Zealand,^[1] which took over Russell Le Cren and Company, and Russell Ritchie and Company^[2]
    • Levin & Co 1896^[1]
    • Wairarapa Farmers Co-operative Association
  • Dalgety Crown 1983 bought by Wrightson NMA 1986
    • Dalgety New Zealand Loan 1962
      • New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company
      • Dalgety New Zealand
    • Crown Consolidated merged with Dalgety 1983
• Pyne Gould Guinness
  • Pyne & Co.^[3]
  • Gould Beaumont & Co. founded in 1851 by Joseph Gould, George Gould and John Beaumont
  • Guinness & Le Cren Ltd founded in 1890 by Edwin Rowland Guinness and Ernest Alfred le Cren
  • Reid Farmers merged with PGG 2001
• Williams & Kettle, bought by Wrightson 2005

In 2011 PGG Wrightson sold its finance division to Heartland Building Society to create a single larger rural financing organisation.^[4]

PGG Wrightson Country Cup

The PGG Wrightson Country Cup is the Premier Competition over the region known as the Canterbury Country. The region includes clubs from the Ellesmere and North Canterbury Sub-Unions and the Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union.

Notable people

• Craig Norgate: Chairman of PGG Wrightson (and predecessor businesses) (2004-2009)
• Tim Miles: CEO of PGG Wrightson (2008-2010)^[5] and former Vodafone UK CEO
• George Gould: CEO of PGG Wrightson (2010-2013) ^[6]
• Sir John Anderson: Chairman of PGG Wrightson (2010-2013)^[7]

References

1. "Fletcher Challenge Archives". Brief History of Fletcher Challenge Limited.
2. Pinney, Robert. "Le Cren, Frederic and Le Cren, Henry John". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
3. "PGG Wrigthson" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 August 2013.
4. "Heartland NZ repays NZ$92.3 million of PGG Wrightson Finance bonds after acquisition of rural lender". interest.co.nz. October 10, 2011.
5. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10754947
6. http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/8736474/George-Gould-departure-as-PGW-head-flagged
7. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/9200528/PGG-Wrightson-chairman-steps-down