Liz Rowe

Senior Associate Pouarataki Pāhake

Liz is a corporate lawyer with more than 15 years’ experience advising clients on matters ranging from structuring and setting up businesses in New Zealand, to compliance and corporate governance, and sale and purchase transactions. She is an expert in retirement village and aged care law.

Liz specialises in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and is part of the corporate team ranked Band 1 by Chambers Asia-Pacific and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022. To any transaction, she brings a huge amount of energy and enthusiasm and is known for her responsiveness, care for clients, ability to quickly understand an industry and its drivers, and problem-solving approach.

She has a deep understanding of the retirement village sector, including the opportunities and challenges for all stakeholders. Liz regularly advises Metlifecare, Bupa, and several other retirement village operators in relation to compliance, corporate transactions, and acquisitions. Liz also advises Covenant Trustee Services Limited in its role as statutory supervisor to a large number of retirement villages. She is passionate about issues facing the sector and leads the firm’s Aged Care team alongside Mark Forman.

Also a specialist in warranty and indemnity (W&I) insurance, Liz regularly advises warranty insurers (including AIG, TMHCC, Beazley and Brockwell) underwriting W&I policies in New Zealand's M&A market. Liz and her team are known for their quick turnaround and expertise in assessing due diligence processes, findings and gaps, and advising on policies and exclusions. Liz brings this expertise into her M&A transactions when acting for the insured.

Career highlights

Acting for Metlifecare on the acquisition of The Selwyn Foundation’s portfolio of retirement villages.

Acting for Multi-Color Corporation on the acquisition of Hexagon Holdings.

Acting for the shareholders of Bay Radiology Limited on the sale of their shares to Infratil.

Trusted adviser to Metlifecare on retirement village law and compliance matters, including the amalgamation of its village entities in 2021.

Trusted adviser to Covenant Trustee Services Limited in relation to its retirement village supervisions, including numerous consent applications for acquisitions, borrowing, and security.

Regularly advising various warranty and indemnity insurers underwriting W&I policies in the New Zealand M&A market.

Affiliations
  • Associate Member, Retirement Villages Association of New Zealand Inc (RVA)
Achievements and recognition
  • Recognised team, Corporate/Commercial, Chambers Asia-Pacific
  • Tier 1 team, Corporate and M&A, The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific