Andrew Ryan

Partner Kaiurungi

Andrew advises on all aspects of New Zealand tax law, from cross-border transactions of major corporates to employment taxes for privately owned businesses.  His clients also include Government entities, partnerships, insolvency practitioners, charities and not-for-profit organisations, and private individuals.

As a leading tax lawyer and chartered accountant, Andrew has advised at the highest level on many of New Zealand’s most complex transactions. He is a trusted adviser to listed companies such as Z Energy and Tower, major New Zealand banks, and a diverse range of clients across many industries, including financial services, real estate, infrastructure providers, forestry, consumer goods and pharmaceuticals.

In addition to his corporate tax practice, Andrew enjoys assisting private wealth clients with their tax affairs, particularly non-resident individuals seeking to invest, relocate or spend time in New Zealand. He has expertise in trust structuring and the New Zealand tax treatment of trusts, including the application of the foreign trust regime to non-residents.

As well as working with colleagues from MinterEllison Australia, Andrew regularly collaborates with other law firms in Asia-Pacific, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United States of America, achieving co-ordinated tax results for clients.

Andrew has expertise in corporate taxation and obtaining binding rulings from Inland Revenue. Working as part of a cross-functional team, Andrew helps clients with structuring, securitisations, transfer pricing, tax disputes, FATCA/CRS reporting, and the taxation aspects of private equity investments, limited partnership agreements, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions.

With experience in all aspects of GST law, Andrew successfully obtains favourable outcomes for clients in disputes with Inland Revenue. He is also an expert on share schemes, employment taxes and executive remuneration taxation.

Recognised as a Leading Individual in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific and Chambers Asia-Pacific directories, clients appreciate Andrew’s calm, considered, approachable, and down to earth manner. “Andrew Ryan is an expert in tax who understands the commercial landscape and provides very practical and useful advice.” – The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2025. He is praised for being "commercially orientated," with one client saying: "Andrew Ryan was pragmatic and responsive, and provided strong and comprehensive advice ." – Chambers Asia-Pacific 2025.

Andrew is a member of the New Zealand Law Society Tax Reform Committee, the Financial Services Council Tax Advisory Group, and is a co-author of the LexisNexis Business Law Module and the LexisNexis Property Practical Guidance. He has a strong interest in sustainability, assisting in the establishment of Toitū Tahua, the Centre for Sustainable Finance, and acting for AgriZeroNZ which is a public-private partnership helping farmers reduce emissions while maintaining profitability and productivity.

Career highlights

Advising Fonterra on the sale of its Soprole dairy business in Chile to Peruvian dairy company, Gloria Foods, that will result in Fonterra receiving approximately NZD1 billion.

Advised Tiny Fund, a Canadian-based technology holding company, on its acquisition of a 60% stake in Letterboxd Limited, a New Zealand-grown, free social media platform that sits in the top 1,500 websites globally and recently surpassed 10 million members across more than 200 countries. Members gather on the platform to track what they watch, share reviews and watch lists, log and rate movies, and follow other like-minded cinephiles.

Acting for Tokyo-listed global insurer, Dai-ichi Life, on a transaction that will see it acquire 100% of the shares in Partners Group Holding Limited, the parent company of New Zealand life insurer Partners Life Limited, for just under NZD1 billion.

Providing specialist tax advice to Te Tai Ōhanga – The Treasury on the NZD2 billion buy back of the shares in Kiwi Group Holdings Limited, Kiwibank’s parent company, from New Zealand Post, the NZ Superannuation Fund and ACC.

Supporting Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) with its tax and legal requirements to successfully deliver the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ competition across New Zealand and Australia during July and August 2023. We worked collaboratively with MinterEllison’s Australian offices to ensure that all matters were addressed on a trans-Tasman basis. The tournament was one of the largest and most significant sporting events New Zealand has ever hosted and was the largest FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ ever, involving 32 teams from across the globe for the first time.

Advised ANZ Group Holdings Limited on its acquisition of Wellington-based data analytics business, DOT Data Limited (trading as DOT Loves Data).  The investment supports ANZ’s long-term ambition to provide valuable data insights to its business customers, as DOT Loves Data offers a suit of proprietary analytics tools, which provide real-time strategic insights, to help a broad range of customers – from corporates to local government.

Advising on the establishment of Peninsula Credit, a New Zealand owned and operated private credit fund, providing direct actively managed secured loans to proven and established corporate New Zealand businesses.  The investment objective of Peninsula Credit is to generate regular distributions of income for its investors, through its diversified portfolio of direct loans to New Zealand business borrowers.

Providing strategic and technical tax advice to ANZ Investment Services (New Zealand) Limited on all aspects of the closing of the public offer of Bonus Bonds and winding up of the Bonus Bonds Scheme (New Zealand’s largest retail managed investment scheme with approximately $3.2 billion invested by around one third of New Zealanders).

Affiliations
  • Member, Tax Law Committee, New Zealand Law Society
  • Member, Tax Advisory Group, Financial Services Council NZ
  • Member, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand
  • Member, International Fiscal Association (New Zealand)
Achievements and recognition
  • Recognised, Tax, Chambers Asia-Pacific
  • Leading Individual, Tax, The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific
  • Tier 1 team, Tax, The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific
  • Recognised, Highly Regarded Practitioner, World Tax
  • Recognised, Tax Law, Best Lawyers