Business beat

Frank Nelson

Thanks to the creeping effects of climate change, a warmer and drier England is now producing wines being favourably compared to some of the best from France and other parts of Europe. Among those driving this resurgence is Nick Lane who spent more than a dozen harvests making wine in Marlborough. Between about 2003 and 2015 he was a winemaker at Cloudy Bay and today he’s director of winemaking at Defined Wine, based in Kent. He oversees the company’s contract winemaking in Kent plus a similar operation which opened about 18 months ago near Colchester, in East Anglia.

Joe’s Garage is moving closer to opening in Blenheim. Lucy Whelan, a director of the popular restaurant chain, says negotiations are underway over a potential site and the company is keen to hear from anyone wishing to take on the Blenheim franchise.

“We’re very enthusiastic about coming to Blenheim when the time is right,” she says. Joe’s Garage has about 20 outlets nationwide with the nearest one currently in Richmond.

Jaycar reseller Blenheim Electronics has recently moved but only to the other side of Scott Street, almost directly opposite their old premises. Manager James Kemp-Dale said the new shop, at about 120 square metres, gives them around 50 percent more space.

This has enabled expansion into electronic fittings and accessories for caravans, room for additional toys, and an increased focus on 3-D printers.

Concerns that hop supplies might have been jeopardised by the major flooding in Nelson last June have proved unfounded. David Nicholls, head brewer at DNA Brewing, on Rapaura Road, says he has not seen any signs of supply disruption.

Nicholls, who also contract brews for Boomtown and is regarded as Marlborough’s foremost brewer, sources hops from New Zealand, Australia, America and the UK.

The Blenheim Lions annual book fair, starting tomorrow in the old Harvey Norman building, makes use of a huge retail space which remains empty more than a year after the company relocated to the Westwood Business Park.

Braden Stanton, a director at Ray White, says this situation highlights the difficulty of trying to lease large commercial premises, not just in Blenheim but in much of regional New Zealand.

The Maxwell Road property offers 1704 square metres of ground floor retail space with an additional 274 square metres of office space above.

Though the two floors could be leased separately, Stanton says not many tenants want such substantial space and it has not attracted any serious interest to date.