New Zealand’s Ruapehu Alpine Lifts enters voluntary administration

Ruapehu Alpine Lifts Limited (RAL), which runs the Whakapapa and Tūroa ski fields on Mt Ruapehu on New Zealand’s North Island, has gone into voluntary administration.

The move, which occurred on Tuesday, follows tough operating years for RAL during the pandemic when New Zealand’s ski areas were first closed and then unable to receive international visitors, then poor snowfalls and above-average temperatures during the current winter season.

RAL, which claims that the two areas combined are the country’s largest ski resort, chose to enter administration after a request for a bailout from the New Zealand Government was rejected.

Advising of RAL’s status this week, a statement from newly appointed administrators John Fisk and Richard Nacey of PwC explained “the company has had a very difficult last three years, with the impact of COVID-19 restrictions, paired with poor weather this season, meaning that the business has been placed under significant cash flow pressure.”

RAL currently employs 196 people across the two ski fields having had to lay off more than 200 staff in August due to lack of snow.

In a normal season, almost 2,000 people either work for the company or directly rely on its activities.

Despite claims the business could have a value of $100 million, Fisk told Newshub that if the business was to close its assets may be worth next to nothing.

Whakapapa is usually one of the first ski areas to open in the southern hemisphere in late May or early June each year thanks to an all-weather snowmaking system while, along with Tūroa, it is among the last to close in late October or early November as it usually has great snow cover to late spring.

Local politicians are calling on the New Zealand Government to support the business, but Tourism and Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash has pointed to $15 million already loaned to RAL as well as grants for the construction of a new gondola in 2019.

Minister Nash advised “we've put $15 million (and now) looked at this from a commercial lens and said 'okay, it's time for us now to step back and let the receivers do what receivers do’."

Minister Nash pointed to reports a group of shareholders and life pass-holders had proposed a crowdfunding scheme, adding “when you've got 14,000 life members, there's 14,000 people that aren't paying annual subs, life memberships can be a real drain."

Set up 70 years ago by ski enthusiasts, RAL operates as a non-profit, exempt from paying company tax while being required to put any profits back into enhancing the ski areas.

However, even before this year’s barren snow season, the company’s auditors noted there was significant doubt about whether the company could continue to stay afloat.

Should the Whakapapa and Tūroa ski fields be forced to close permanently, it would leave North Island, where more than three-quarters of the nation’s 5 million people live, without any major ski areas.

Located in the heart of New Zealand’s Tongariro National Park, Mt Ruapehu is the country’s largest volcano.

Image: Skiing on Mt Ruapehu during a past winter season.