High-tech campus biggest deal of 2026?

The 5.42ha technology campus in Christchurch where global exporter Tait Communications manufactures telecommunications equipment is likely to be one of the most significant commercial property transactions in the South Island this year.

With an estimated value of approximately $70m, the campus will be attractive to both national and international investment groups.

“Considering the size of the property and the absolutely outstanding quality of the tenant, this deal has the potential to be one of the pre-eminent sales of 2026,” Colliers Christchurch Managing Director Hamish Doig says.

Tait International is one of Canterbury’s most successful exporters and is 40 per cent owned by Japanese communications company JVC Kenwood, which is publicly listed on the Tokyo stock exchange and manufactures complementary products.

“This property is one of the most significant investment opportunities in the South Island market in a number of years,” says Colliers Christchurch General Manager and Investment Sales Broker Mark Macauley, who is marketing the campus for sale with Doig.

“For investors, the offering represents a rare chance to secure a substantial asset underpinned by a globally recognised technology occupier.

“Opportunities of this scale, with a strong tenant covenant and a long-established international business at its core, are seldom presented to the Christchurch market.”

Tait’s high-tech campus comprises two freehold buildings at 558 Wairakei Road and 245 Woolridge Road in Harewood, with floor areas of 11,394sq m and 6,834sq m, respectively.

Both properties are occupied by Tait, which has its headquarters, research and development, and manufacturing operations on-site with more than 800 employees.

Tait designs and manufactures mission-critical radio communications equipment used by emergency services, utilities, transport networks, and industrial organisations, and operates globally across more than 90 countries.

It has been in business for more than 57 years and is strongly rooted in Christchurch, where 95 per cent of its manufacturing takes place.

The campus sits in the Harewood and Burnside industrial precinct with excellent connectivity to key transport routes. It’s 7km from the Christchurch CBD and close to the international airport.

This area has evolved over 25 years into an established software and electronics manufacturing hub and there is now little vacant land remaining for further industrial development.

The campus sale comes at a time when the economic fundamentals in Canterbury are outperforming the rest of New Zealand.

“That regional strength directly underpins the investment case – a globally anchored tenant in a market growing three times faster than the national average is a markedly more attractive proposition than bricks and mortar alone,” Doig says.

“For investors, Canterbury ticks a lot of boxes right now – business confidence is strong and the infrastructure and workforce are here to support it.”

According to ChristchurchNZ’s March monthly briefing, the region recorded GDP growth of 1.2 per cent in the year to December 2025 compared with national growth of just 0.4 per cent.

Momentum strengthened noticeably toward the end of 2025, with Canterbury’s GDP expanding 2.4 per cent in the December quarter – its fastest pace in more than two years.

The labour market is a particular bright spot. January 2026 marked seven consecutive months of year-on-year job growth.

December was a record month for international arrivals at Christchurch Airport and commercial accommodation occupancy exceeds the national average.

Meanwhile, construction consents in Canterbury rose 26 per cent in the three months to January 2026 and the manufacturing sector recorded its fifth consecutive month of expansion.

The Harewood campus vendors are two property investment syndicates managed by Auckland-based syndicators, GEK Property – the Tait Industrial Investment Fund and the Tait Office Investment Fund.

The campus is for sale by deadline private treaty closing on 7 May, unless sold prior.

- Supplied by Colliers