Rank Group

1. Organisation Name: Rank Group Limited (formerly Barberton Investments Limited until 9 Feb 2007). Privately held investment holding company.

2. Unique Identifiers: NZBN 9429037782269; Company Number 921169.

3. Entity Type: New Zealand Limited Company (Registered). Not publicly listed (100% privately owned).

4. Date of Incorporation: 12 August 1998.

5. Registered & Head Office Address: Floor 9, 148 Quay Street, Auckland Central, Auckland 1010, New Zealand. (Postal: PO Box 3515, Auckland 1140).

6. Country of Origin: New Zealand (domestic company).

7. Leadership (Directors):

   • Graeme Richard Hart – Executive Director (appointed 12 Aug 1998). Founder and sole owner, New Zealand’s wealthiest individual.

   • Allen Philip Hugli – Director (appointed 17 Oct 2007). Longtime finance executive for Rank (often described as Chief Financial Officer).

   • Gregory Alan Cole – Director (appointed 17 Oct 2007). Senior executive at Rank since 2004; former Deloitte partner.

   • Helen Dorothy Golding – Director (appointed 3 Sep 2015). Group Legal Counsel since 2006 (ex-Burns Philp).
     (No independent or external directors; all current board members are insiders aligned with owner.)

8. Key Executive Management: Graeme Hart serves as Managing Director/Chairman (de facto CEO). Allen Hugli (CFO), Greg Cole (senior finance executive), and Helen Golding (General Counsel) are top managers. Hart’s family members are not listed as executives of Rank, though his son Harry and daughter Gretchen have pursued separate ventures (e.g. Walter & Wild food brands).

9. Shareholders / Beneficial Ownership: Graeme Richard Hart is the sole shareholder with 100% ownership (2 shares). No other beneficial owners disclosed. (Ownership is held directly by Hart, not via any listed trust or intermediary, according to Companies Office records.)

10. Parent Entity: None. Rank Group is the ultimate holding company for Hart’s business interests. (It is privately controlled by Hart and not a subsidiary of any larger corporate group.)

11. Subsidiaries and Major Assets: Rank Group is the parent to a global portfolio, notably:

    • Reynolds Group Holdings – a packaging conglomerate encompassing Hart’s international packaging businesses. Key units include:

      • Reynolds Consumer Products, Inc. – U.S.-based consumer goods company (Reynolds foil, Hefty bags, etc.), majority-owned by Rank (approx. 77% after a 2020 IPO). Listed on NASDAQ (REYN) in 2020, raising ~$1.2B.

      • Pactiv Evergreen – Food and beverage packaging supplier (merged Pactiv and Evergreen Packaging), publicly listed (NASDAQ: PTVE) with Rank as controlling shareholder.

      • Graham Packaging Company – Global plastic container manufacturer, wholly owned within Reynolds Group.

    • Carter Holt Harvey Ltd. – New Zealand-based forest products and building supplies company, 100% owned by Rank since 2006. Includes Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts (timber, panels) and Carters building supplies stores nationwide.

    • Burns, Philp & Company Ltd. – Former food & consumer goods company (acquired by Hart in 1997); now largely divested. Rank retains the corporate shell and residual assets.

    • Other holdings: Rank Group Capital & Treasury subsidiaries (finance vehicles for debt raising), and various special-purpose entities (e.g. Rank Group Captive Holdings for insurance). Hart and son also co-own Walter & Wild (NZ food brands) outside the main Rank portfolio.
      (Overall, Rank’s constituent companies operate internationally in packaging, consumer goods, and building supplies.)

12. Business Activities / Classification: Rank Group is essentially a private investment firm functioning as a holding company. It invests in large-scale manufacturing and distribution businesses:

    • Primary industries: Packaging manufacturing (paper, plastic, and consumer packaging globally) and wood-based building materials (timber, plywood, building supplies in NZ).

    • ANZSIC classifications: Likely falls under “Financial Asset Investing / Holding Company” for Rank itself, and “Manufacturing – Packaging” and “Timber/Hardware Wholesaling” for its operating subsidiaries.

    • Business model: Leveraged buyouts and restructuring of underperforming companies (Hart’s known strategy) – improving cash flows, cutting costs, and integrating acquisitions. Rank does not produce consumer goods or services under its own name; it manages investments in these subsidiary companies.

13. Public Disclosures: Data Not Found. Rank Group provides minimal public disclosure. As a private company it issues no public annual reports or open filings in New Zealand. It is not listed on any stock exchange, so it has no continuous disclosure obligations. The company’s only public reporting comes via:

    • Companies Office filings: basic director/shareholding info (as above).

    • Electoral Commission donations reports: when donations exceed NZ$15,000 (see political donations below).

    • Subsidiary disclosures: e.g. Reynolds Consumer Products publishes SEC filings as a U.S. public company, which occasionally reveal Rank’s ownership stake and dividend flows.

    • Media statements: Rank Group seldom comments publicly (in 2023 it declined to comment to RNZ about its political contributions). There is no voluntary lobbying transparency report or code of conduct published by Rank.
      (New Zealand currently has no mandatory lobbying register, and Rank Group is not a member of any voluntary disclosure scheme.)

14. Address for Service: Same as registered office – Floor 9, 148 Quay Street, Auckland. (Historically, Rank used law firm Bell Gully’s address for service during 2003–2014).

15. Contact Details: Telephone +64 9 366 6259; Fax +64 9 366 6263. Official website: **

https://www.rankgroup.co.nz/

15. . (No official social media accounts. Online presence is limited to the bare-bones website listing subsidiary links. Rank operates with a low public profile, reflecting Hart’s secretive reputation.)

16. Leadership/Key Personnel Background:

    • Graeme Hart – Often dubbed the “undercover billionaire” for avoiding media. No formal tertiary degree beyond an MBA; famously left school at 16 and built an empire through bold leveraged acquisitions. Inducted into the NZ Business Hall of Fame in 2022.

    • Political ties: Hart holds no public office and rarely engages openly in politics. However, his son-in-law Duncan Hawkesby (married to Gretchen Hart) has acted as an intermediary in political outreach. No former politicians are on Rank’s board – its directors are career business/finance figures.

    • Revolving door: No evidence of Rank employing former Ministers or MPs. Conversely, some Rank executives hold roles in overseas subsidiaries (e.g. Hart, Cole, Golding sit on boards of Reynolds Consumer Products). There is no known direct secondment of Rank staff into government roles or vice versa.

17. Shareholding Structure: 100% privately owned by Graeme Hart. Shares are held in Hart’s personal name (address in Auckland) rather than through a family trust or holding vehicle. (This direct ownership is somewhat atypical for a billionaire; it may reflect Hart’s preference for simplicity and full control. It also means transparency is limited – as a private owner, Hart’s internal transfers of assets or dividends are not public.)

18. Associated Entities / Affiliations:

    • Major Companies Group (BusinessNZ): Data not found. (It is unclear if Rank Group or its units participate in NZ’s big-business lobby groups. Carter Holt Harvey was historically a member of forestry and wood industry associations, but current memberships are not disclosed publicly.)

    • Industry bodies: Carter Holt is a significant player in the Forest Owners Association and Wood Processors Association in NZ, and likely exerts influence there (though the company is privately held, it may quietly support industry lobbying on trade, environment, and building regulations – not openly documented). Reynolds Group companies abroad belong to packaging industry groups in their jurisdictions.

    • Philanthropic affiliations: The Hart family has a charitable foundation (through personal channels). Graeme and Robyn Hart are known for quiet philanthropy to health and education causes (e.g. a NZ$10m donation to Otago University in 2018). These charitable links can bolster the family’s public image, but are separate from Rank Group’s corporate activities.

19. Government Contracts and Subsidies:

    • COVID-19 Wage Subsidy: Rank’s subsidiary Carter Holt Harvey applied for and received NZ$2.18 million under New Zealand’s wage subsidy scheme in 2020 to support 312 employees at its Northland wood mill. (Controversy: Despite taking this subsidy, the company was later found to have breached employment law by forcing staff to use annual leave during lockdown, effectively undermining the subsidy’s intent.)

    • Other government support: No significant public grants or contracts identified. (Carter Holt’s dealings with government have been adversarial rather than subsidized – e.g. legal disputes with the Ministry of Education over leaky building materials, settled out of court.) The Rank Group empire does not rely on government contracts; its businesses operate in private-sector markets (packaging supply contracts with multinationals, etc.).

20. Public Sector Engagement:

    • Official Meetings: There is evidence of private meetings between Graeme Hart and top officials. For instance, in April 2019 Hart met with Finance Minister Grant Robertson at the Beehive, and separately with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (and Hart’s son-in-law) at her electorate office. These meetings, unpublicised at the time, suggest direct lobbying on policy (coinciding with debates over a proposed capital gains tax)

    • Lobbyist Registration: Rank Group is not a registered lobbyist (NZ has no mandatory lobby register, and Rank has not voluntarily registered any lobbying activity). The company typically operates through informal, behind-closed-doors channels.

    • Consultants: In at least one instance, a PR/lobbying consultant was engaged to facilitate political access – an email by a consultant arranged the 2019 meeting between Hart’s family and an NZ First MP regarding tax policy. The consultant’s identity was not disclosed in public reports, indicating this influence activity occurred in the shadows of unofficial networks.

21. Political Donations (New Zealand): Significant and increasing. Graeme Hart and Rank Group have emerged as major donors to political parties, especially on the right:

    • 2022: Hart personally gave NZ$250,000 to the National Party and NZ$100,000 to the ACT Party.

    • 2023: Rank Group Ltd donated NZ$150,000 to National (Sept 2023) and NZ$100,000 to ACT (April 2023). In addition, Hart made a personal donation of NZ$100,000 to New Zealand First.

    • 2019: Three donations of $14,995 each (just under the public disclosure threshold) were made via Hart-associated companies to the NZ First Foundation. These covert contributions, orchestrated by a PR intermediary, only came to light during a Serious Fraud Office probe.

    • Total (2021–2023): Over NZ$800,000 to National, ACT, and NZ First – making Hart the single biggest donor in some categories. No donations to Labour or Green parties are recorded in this period.
      (All donations above $15k are publicly disclosed per NZ law. Hart/Rank’s pattern shows strategic funding of parties that oppose wealth taxes or heavy regulation, raising concerns of policy influence)

22. Overseas Political Influence: Rank Group’s focus is largely commercial, but its businesses abroad have occasionally intersected with foreign policy/regulation:

    • United States: Hart’s packaging firms have U.S. lobbying on industry issues (e.g. trade tariffs, environmental rules). For example, Reynolds Consumer Products’ SEC filings list engagement on tariffs and trade policy as risk factors, and industry groups (like the American Chemistry Council) lobby on plastics regulation on behalf of companies like Reynolds (no direct filings by Rank found). Hart himself is not known to donate in U.S. politics; influence is exerted via corporate channels.

    • Other jurisdictions: Hart’s companies have faced regulatory scrutiny (e.g. competition approvals for acquisitions in Europe, tax disputes in Latin America – see below), which likely involved lobbying behind closed doors, though specific lobby records are scarce. Rank’s low public profile extends overseas, often acting through law firms and advisors rather than overt public lobbying.

23. Tax and Offshore Structures: Highly complex and opaque. Rank Group uses international holding companies and debt financing to minimize tax exposure:

    • The empire is structured through layers of offshore entities. For instance, Hart’s Reynolds Group was previously incorporated in Guernsey and later reorganised with entities in Delaware (USA) and British Virgin Islands. A notable case involved a BVI-based parent of a Chilean packaging subsidiary making a $48m inter-company loan to extract profits tax-free – Chilean authorities deemed it a “hidden distribution” and hit Rank with a NZ$14m tax bill (after which Rank litigated unsuccessfully to avoid liability).

    • Hart’s leveraged buyout strategy also confers tax advantages. By “borrowing as much as you can” to acquire companies, Rank’s entities carry huge interest expenses that reduce taxable income. (As of 2019, Reynolds Group had US$11 billion debt against $1.8b equity, yielding minimal net profit – and minimal tax – despite large revenues.)

    • Tax residency: Graeme Hart resides in New Zealand, but much of Rank’s profit is booked offshore. Wealth growth (estimated NZ$3.4b increase during 2020 alone) has largely escaped taxation, leading to public calls (e.g. by Oxfam) for a wealth tax. New Zealand’s lack of a capital gains tax has benefited Hart – past asset sales (Burns Philp, Goodman Fielder, etc.) delivered hundreds of millions in untaxed gains.

    • Transparency: Rank’s financial statements are private. The NZ Companies Office does not require public financial reporting from wholly private companies of this size, so there is effectively no public insight into Rank’s profits or taxes paid in NZ. The limited glimpses (e.g. court cases, bond prospectuses) suggest aggressive tax minimisation is part of the business model.

24. Ethical Issues & Controversies: (No formal disclosures by Rank). Key issues include:

    • Regulatory & legal disputes: Carter Holt Harvey’s prolonged legal battle over supplying defective building products (leaky school buildings) – settled confidentially in 2021 – raised questions about corporate accountability. Rank’s secrecy meant no comment on the matter.

    • Labour practices: Carter Holt’s enforcement of leave during the subsidised lockdown was ruled unlawful, suggesting disregard for worker rights. The company did not volunteer remediation until taken to court.

    • Public accountability: Rank Group’s absence from corporate social responsibility forums and refusal to engage with media inquiries (e.g. “no comment” on political donations) have been criticised by transparency advocates.

    • “Integrity-washing”: While not overt in PR, the Hart family’s quiet philanthropy and Graeme Hart’s rags-to-riches public narrative (Hall of Fame speeches, etc.) serve to soften his image. There is concern this acts as integrity-washing, counterbalancing the lack of transparency in his business dealings with occasional charitable gestures.

25. Integrity and Transparency Measures: Data Not Found. Rank Group has no published code of ethics or transparency policy. It is not certified by any transparency or anti-corruption initiatives. The Integrity Institute’s research has had to piece together Rank’s influence from external sources, since the company itself does not volunteer information. (This lack of proactive transparency is a red flag in the context of lobbying and influence scrutiny.)

26. Client Relationships: Not applicable. Rank Group itself is not a consultancy; it does not have “clients.” However, its subsidiaries serve many corporate customers:

    • Reynolds Consumer’s clients include major retailers (Walmart, etc.) for consumer foil and storage products.

    • Pactiv supplies big foodservice chains (e.g. McDonald’s packaging).

    • Carter Holt supplies builders and contractors in NZ (through Carters stores) and was once a key government supplier for school builds (until the cladding issues).
      These business relationships sometimes entangle in policy – for example, packaging waste rules or building material regulations – where Rank’s companies have an interest in the outcome.

27. Lobbying Activities: (No official registry entry; reconstructed from investigative findings):

    • Direct lobbying: Graeme Hart has engaged directly with government officials at the highest level on at least one major issue (the proposed capital gains tax in 2019) – meeting the Finance Minister and Prime Minister in private. These meetings were not publicly announced, only later revealed via diary disclosures.

    • Indirect lobbying: Rank often operates through third parties – e.g. the NZ First Foundation donations case shows Hart’s camp using a PR consultant to arrange political access and channel funds below disclosure limits. Similarly, industry associations likely lobby on Rank’s behalf (e.g. BusinessNZ opposing capital gains or wealth taxes would align with Hart’s interests, though Rank’s direct involvement is not documented).

    • No in-house registered lobbyist: There is no known dedicated lobbying staff within Rank Group. Influence is exerted by the owner (Hart) and his close associates personally, leveraging their economic clout rather than formal lobbyist filings.

28. Political and Policy Positions: Rank Group itself does not publish policy positions, but implicit stances can be inferred:

    • Taxation: Strongly opposed to new taxes on capital or wealth. Hart’s behind-the-scenes lobbying against a capital gains tax is evidenced by his donations and meetings (the CGT was shelved in 2019 after NZ First’s resistance, which coincided with Hart’s interventions). Hart has publicly said high taxation dampens business risk-taking.

    • Regulation: Prefers light regulation on business. For example, subsidiaries have fought regulations: Philip Morris (part-owned via Reynolds in past) fought tobacco plain packaging; Carter Holt resisted liability for building defects. Rank’s influence tends to push for business-friendly policies (labor flexibility, low environmental compliance costs, etc.), though it does so quietly.

    • Trade & Industry Policy: Supports free trade and opposed measures that increase input costs (e.g. tariffs on imported materials for packaging). The group has not openly submitted on legislation, but likely contributes to industry submissions under umbrella groups.

29. Summary of Influence Footprint: Rank Group is one of New Zealand’s most powerful yet opaque corporate actors. Its organisational details reveal a tightly held private empire with minimal disclosure and a penchant for secrecy. All meaningful control rests with Graeme Hart, whose wealth grants him access to decision-makers that ordinary citizens do not have. The company’s subsidiaries span critical sectors (packaging, building materials) that intersect with public policy (environmental rules, housing, forestry management). Despite this, Rank Group operates almost entirely out of the public eye – making it precisely the kind of entity that a lobbying and influence register aims to illuminate.

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Sources:

[1] Rank Group Limited – Company Summary, NZ Companies Office via NZLB, https://www.nzlbusiness.com/company/registered/Rank-Group-Limited

[2] Rank Group Limited (official website), Rank Group,

https://www.rankgroup.co.nz/

[3] Farah Hancock, “Billionaire Graeme Hart's $700k in donations to right wing parties”, RNZ News, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/498251/billionaire-graeme-hart-s-700k-in-donations-to-right-wing-parties

[4] “Property industry tops political donations”, RNZ News, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/499176/property-industry-tops-political-donations

[5] Tim Murphy, “NZ's richest man backing NZ First again”, Newsroom (via Inkl), https://www.inkl.com/news/nz-s-richest-man-backing-nz-first-again

[6] Matt Nippert, “New Zealand's richest man Graeme Hart loses $14m Chilean tax wrangle”, NZ Herald, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/new-zealands-richest-man-graeme-hart-loses-14m-chilean-tax-wrangle/WGUIFXH6IUCE6QDM5HMW5QLVNA/

[7] Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – April 2019 Diary, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC), via Beehive.govt.nz (Official Information Act release)

[8] Hon. Grant Robertson – April 2019 Ministerial Diary, The Treasury (Minister’s office), via Beehive.govt.nz (Official Information Act release)

[9] Companies Office Director and Shareholder Records for Rank Group Ltd, NZ Companies Office (accessed via nzwao.com directory)

[10] Bryce Edwards, “Launching the NZ Lobbying & Influence Register”, LinkedIn (Integrity Institute announcement), April 7, 2025

[11] Bryce Edwards, “Heft” (Lobbying & Influence Register profile), The Integrity Institute (democracyproject.substack.com)

[12] New Zealand Companies Office registry filings for Barberton Investments/Rank Group, NZ Companies Office (historical names and addresses)

[13] Transparency International NZ, “Money for Something: The Hidden Role of Money in NZ Politics”, 2021 report (cited in RNZ)

[14] Parliamentary debate excerpts on capital gains tax, NZ Parliament Hansard (various, 2019)

[15] Spinoff – Tax Heroes project (Graeme Hart mention), The Spinoff, March 28, 2018, https://thespinoff.co.nz/partner/28-03-2018/tax-heroes-forget-the-rich-list-who-pays-the-most-tax-in-nz

[16] Fabian Society seminar: “Issues in Privatisation – Costs & Benefits”, Scoop News (link to paper by Bill Rosenberg), Feb 2011, https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1102/S00022/scoop-link-issues-in-privatisation-costs-benefits.htm

[17] Joanna Spratt (Oxfam NZ), Interview: “Graeme Hart’s $3.4b gain proves need for taxing wealth”, RNZ News, Jan 25, 2021, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/435132/graeme-hart-s-3-point-4b-gain-proves-need-for-taxing-wealth-oxfam

[18] Graham Adams, “Cash Rules Everything Around Me”, Democracy Project (via Facebook), Nov 2023 – commentary on political donations

[19] NBR Rich List 2022 entry: Graeme Hart, NBR (National Business Review), July 29, 2022

[20] (Additional sources included in the footnotes above from RNZ, NZ Herald, NZ Parliament, etc.)

(All information is sourced from publicly available reports, official records, and credible news outlets as cited above. No private or speculative content is presented without attribution. This analysis focuses on factual patterns and documented instances to ensure accuracy and fairness.)

Spot anything in this entry that is wrong? Please either leave a comment at the end or email, in confidence: bryce@democracyproject.nz