Winton Land Limited
Business Name: Winton Land Limited (trading as Winton; formerly Winton Property Limited)
Company Number: 6310507
New Zealand Business Number (NZBN): 9429046190154
Entity Type: NZ Limited Company (Publicly listed on NZX and ASX since Dec 2021)
Business Classification: K624030 – “Holding Company Operation – Passive Investment in Subsidiary Companies” (Winton functions as a parent for property development projects). In practice, Winton is a large-scale residential property developer, specializing in integrated master-planned communities.
Year Founded: 2017 (incorporated 19 June 2017). Founders: Christopher Meehan and Michaela Meehan (established Winton after Chris Meehan’s prior real estate ventures, including founding the Belle Property franchise in 1999). Winton debuted on the stock exchange in December 2021 with an IPO of approx. NZ$350 million.
Registered Addresses: Head office is in Auckland. As of 2018–2024, the registered office was at Level 4, 10 Viaduct Harbour Avenue, Auckland. In late 2024 the company updated its registered address to Level 2, 11 Westhaven Drive, Auckland.
Website: Winton.nz (corporate site); investors.winton.nz (investor centre).
Social Media: Maintains a LinkedIn page (linkedin.com/company/wintonnz). No official presence on Twitter or Facebook is noted for the company itself.
Leadership: Christopher Scott Meehan – Founder, Chair & Chief Executive Officer. Michaela Meehan – Co-founder and Non-Executive Director. Julian Cook – Executive Director (Director of Retirement division; former CEO of Summerset Group). Glen Tupuhi – Independent Director (governance specialist with Māori iwi representation background). Steven Joyce – Independent Director (former NZ Finance Minister, joined June 2023). James Kemp – Non-Executive Director (Macquarie Asset Management representative on behalf of a major shareholder). Guy Fergusson – Independent Director (capital markets specialist). (As a publicly listed company, Winton has a board of directors; Chris Meehan also serves as CEO.)
Major Shareholders: Winton’s largest beneficial owner is founder Chris Meehan (and family) – holding ~55% of shares (through entities such as Korama Ltd, linked to the Amarok Trust). Macquarie Asset Management (via TC Akarua Trust) is the second-largest holder (~22%) – Macquarie invested NZ$200 million at IPO and later increased its stake with shareholder approval in Jan 2024. Other notable shareholders include JWAJ Limited (~7%) and Wanaka Partners, LLC (~7% prior to late-2023, partially sold to Macquarie thereafter). The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) and investment vehicles associated with the Huljich family are also minor shareholders.
Political Donations: Winton’s leadership (especially CEO Chris Meehan) and related entities have made substantial political donations in recent years. In May 2022, a Meehan-owned company (Speargrass Holdings) donated $52,894 to the National Party. In 2023, Chris Meehan personally donated $103,260 to National and $50,000 to the ACT Party. (Since 2021, Meehan, his family and companies have given over $206,000 to National/ACT.) These donations have drawn scrutiny given Winton’s ongoing projects and requests from government. No recorded donations to Labour or Greens were noted.
Controversies: Regulatory & Legal Disputes – Winton is entangled in a high-profile legal battle with the Government’s housing agency Kāinga Ora, suing for $138 million over an alleged failure to fast-track Winton’s flagship “Sunfield” development. “Fast-Track” Development Concerns – Winton’s push to bypass standard planning processes (seeking special fast-track consent for Sunfield) has been controversial, with critics highlighting that Sunfield’s South Auckland site includes flood-prone land, raising safety and environmental concerns. Political Influence & Donations – Winton’s sizable donations to opposition parties and subsequent support from those politicians have led to accusations of “cronyism” once those parties gained power. For example, after receiving donations, opposition housing spokespeople publicly advocated for Winton’s project, and in 2023 a minister had to recuse himself from a Sunfield decision due to conflicts of interest. Revolving Door – The appointment of former Cabinet Minister Steven Joyce to Winton’s board (while the company insisted he was “not appointed for government relations or lobbying”) drew media attention to Winton’s political ties. Litigious Strategy – Winton has a reputation for aggressively using litigation against opponents and authorities (from suing neighbouring landowners in Queenstown to taking government bodies to court) as a business tactic. Personal Grievance Case - Winton Capital was ordered to pay over $100,000 to a former assistant after the ERA found she was forced to resign due to CEO Chris Meehan’s abusive behavior. including threats and profane outbursts over a flight booking. The company plans to appeal. These issues have collectively raised questions about Winton’s influence on policy and its alignment with public interest.
Sources:
[1] Winton Land Limited – New Zealand Business Directory (NZWAO), https://www.nzwao.com/companies/winton-partners-land-limited/
[2] Farah Hancock, “Property industry tops political donations,” RNZ News, 2 Oct 2023, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/499176/property-industry-tops-political-donations
[3] Bryce Edwards, “The Vested Interests Shaping National Party Policies,” Scoop News, 27 Sep 2023, https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2309/S00236/the-vested-interests-shaping-national-party-policies.htm
[4] “Property developer wants $138m from Kāinga Ora for alleged anti-competitive behaviour,” RNZ News, 31 Jul 2023, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/494869/property-developer-wants-138m-from-kainga-ora-for-alleged-anti-competitive-behaviour
[5] Anne Gibson, “Property developer Winton Land’s $350m IPO: Finance experts’ initial verdicts a mix of caution and enthusiasm,” NZ Herald, 3 Dec 2021 (Premium) – summary via NZHerald Premium preview, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/aged-care/property-developer-winton-lands-350m-ipo-finance-experts-initial-verdicts-a-mix-of-caution-and-enthusiasm/CEVWO2X5LTH2XTUICPDX5FGWEQ/
[6] “Winton Land Limited – Independent Adviser’s Report (December 2023),” Takeovers Panel (NZ), 22 Jan 2024, https://www.takeovers.govt.nz/assets/Transactions/Winton-Land-Limited-2024-Independent-Advisers-Report.pdf (see transaction summary)
[7] “Winton Land Limited – Notice of Special Meeting (Wanaka/Akarua share sale),” Takeovers Panel (NZ), 22 Jan 2024, https://www.takeovers.govt.nz/assets/Transactions/Winton-Land-Limited-2024-Notice-of-Special-Meeting.pdf (contains shareholder breakdown)
[8] “Winton Land Limited – Company Info,” BusinessCheck.co.nz, updated 6 Apr 2025, https://www.businesscheck.co.nz/ltd/9429046190154/
[9] “About Winton – Board and Management,” Winton.nz (Company Website), 2024, https://winton.nz/about-winton
[10] “Our Neighbourhoods – Project Portfolio,” Winton.nz, 2025, https://winton.nz/our-neighbourhoods/
[11] “National frontbencher backs big party donor in $138m case against housing agency,” Newsroom (via inkl.com), 29 Aug 2023, summary available on Newsroom’s social media – describes Winton as a National Party donor fighting Kāinga Ora (original: newsroom.co.nz/2023/08/29/…).
[12] “Fast-track more ‘balanced’ if it avoided local authorities: Winton,” Newsroom (via X/Twitter post by Helen Clark), 24 Nov 2023, summary: Winton (National Party donor) suggests fast-track bill should bypass local groups that opposed its project.
[13] Nick Rockel, “Money Changes Everything,” Substack – nickrockel.substack.com, 15 Oct 2023, analysis of political donations including Winton’s newspaper ads attacking government red tape.
[14] Mike Jerome Infante, “Fast-Tracking of Sunfield Project Sparks Allegations of Cronyism,” B2B News, 14 Dec 2024, https://b2bnews.co.nz/news/fast-tracking-of-sunfield-project-sparks-allegations-of-cronyism/
[15] “Catastrophe in the making? Fast-tracked housing on flood-prone land sparks concern,” RNZ News, 24 Oct 2024, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/531808/catastrophe-in-the-making-fast-tracked-housing-on-flood-prone-land-sparks-concern
[16] “Director Appointment – Steven Joyce,” Winton Land Market Announcement (NZX/ASX release), 22 Jun 2023, via Listcorp, https://www.listcorp.com/asx/wtn/winton-land-limited/news/director-appointment-resignation-2862621.html
[17] Philip Matthews, “The best Government that money can buy,” The Standard (blog), 15 Mar 2023, https://thestandard.org.nz/the-best-government-that-money-can-buy/ (mentions Meehan’s donations in 2023)
[18] “Lawyers the new diggers in property development business,” Newsroom, 26 Oct 2022, summary: Winton is known for taking opponents and agencies to court as part of doing business (newsroom.co.nz/…property-development-biz)
[19] Chris Keall, “Media Insider: Winton Land CEO Chris Meehan on PM Hipkins and red tape,” NZ Herald, 22 Sep 2023, summary via NZHerald: Meehan took out ads criticising PM Hipkins over housing red tape.
[20] “Property development company Winton sues Kāinga Ora over refusal to fast-track $4b Sunfield,” Reddit thread (r/NewZealand), 2022, summarizing RNZ/News coverage and public discussion of Winton’s lawsuit.
Spot anything in this entry that is wrong? Please either leave a comment at the end or email, in confidence: bryce@democracyproject.nz