Rabobank New Zealand’s new head office in Hamilton — the Rabobank Centre — opened its doors yesterday and the bank’s employees are now settling into their new office space in Union Square at the south-end of the city’s CBD.
The Rabobank Centre is the new home for around 80 Rabobank New Zealand employees with 50 head office staff joined in the new building by members of the Waikato regional team who had previously been based in the bank’s Hamilton office on London Street.
The opening of the new Rabobank Centre follows the bank’s decision in late 2019 to relocate its head office from Wellington to Hamilton to support its growth strategy into the future as the country’s only specialist food and agribusiness bank.
Rabobank New Zealand CEO Todd Charteris said the relocation of the bank’s head office to Hamilton marks a new chapter for the bank in New Zealand.
“Located at heart of the vibrant Waikato food and agri region and in close proximity to several other food-producing regions, the new Rabobank Centre will be a place where our employees, farmers and community leaders can come together to share ideas to further advance the industry and to help the bank’s clients achieve their goals,” he said.
“But this is about much more than opening a new office. It’s about making a statement about who we are and what we stand for. It’s about helping us embed a mindset across our business centred on getting closer to our clients, regardless of where we work across New Zealand, so we can make even better and more effective decisions for them.
“The Waikato is a real hub for food and agri innovation and development and we feel we are now ideally positioned to support our clients and to further grow our New Zealand business.”
Mr Charteris said most of the bank’s head office employees were now based in the Waikato with a number having relocated from Wellington over the past 12 months and others having joined the bank in Hamilton this year.
“During this period we’ve operated across two sites in Hamilton — with our head office staff based in a temporary office on Collingwood street and our Country Banking team located on London street — and it’s great to finally get all of our Hamilton team together in the one building,” he said.
The new Rabobank Centre in Hamilton
The Dawn Wall artwork displayed at reception which has been fabricated using a range of timber louvres with lighting and a three-dimensional map of New Zealand.
“The bank already has a strong ties with the community in the Waikato, and with more of our team now based here, we’re looking forward to further strengthening our links with the region’s farming and business community in the years ahead.”
First building in Union Square
The new Rabobank head office is located in Union Square Building — the first building completed in the Union Square development project.
Mr Charteris said Rabobank would occupy the top two levels of the five-level building with the lower levels occupied by other financial services providers.
“Union Square combines retail, office and lifestyle space and will eventually include several cafes and restaurants, a wellness centre, end-of-trip facilities and a parking complex. It’s also located close to Hamilton’s central transportation hub which gives our employees plenty of options for their commute to and from work,” he said.
“It’s a great spot and we’re thrilled to be part of such an exciting development which will provide a range of services and facilities for our staff and office visitors.”
Food and agri-focussed fitout
Mr Charteris said the new Rabobank office provided a range of spaces to enable staff to work at their best.
“We’ve created an office with work spaces for everything from focused individual work through to collaborative team work and formal presentations. And the idea is for our staff to move around the office and find the work environment that best fits the task they’re undertaking,” he said.
“The office also includes an area where our staff can relax and catch-up with colleagues, as well as kitchen and event catering facilities and a café work lounge.”
Mr Charteris said the bank’s commitment to its clients and the wider agricultural sector was another key consideration in the office fitout.
“We wanted some of the very best materials. And we wanted to support the New Zealand wool industry. So we sourced wool from three clients around the country — the Chrystalls from Taihape, the Sutherlands from South Otago and the Olivers from the King Country — to produce carpet for the new office,” he said.
“The feedback we’ve had on the carpet project has been outstanding and we’re proud to have something that’s been produced by our clients featuring prominently in our new building.”
Mr Charteris said the new office space also included several other features which reflected the bank’s food and agri focus.
“The Dawn Wall artwork which is displayed at our reception desk has been fabricated using a range of timber louvres with lighting and a three-dimensional map of New Zealand. This represents dawn light, and is a nod to the fact that many of our clients are up early and get to experience the dawn,” he said.
“New Zealand staff also participated in a competition earlier this year to nominate names for the new Centre’s meeting rooms, resulting in meeting rooms named after geographical features with a food and agri link such as Pomahaka, Wairau, Taranaki, Ruapehu – and, of course, Waikato.
Official opening event
Mr Charteris said the new Centre was blessed by local hapu at a short ceremony held yesterday morning and an official opening event is now being planned for early next year.
“This will be attended by a range of clients, industry, business, government and community leaders, along with service providers who have helped bring the new centre to fruition,” he said.
Rabobank New Zealand is a part of the global Rabobank Group, the world’s leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. Rabobank has more than 120 years’ experience providing customised banking and finance solutions to businesses involved in all aspects of food and agribusiness. Rabobank is structured as a cooperative and operates in 40 countries, servicing the needs of about 10 million clients worldwide through a network of close to 1000 offices and branches. Rabobank New Zealand is one of the country's leading agricultural lenders and a significant provider of business and corporate banking and financial services to the New Zealand food and agribusiness sector. The bank has 32 offices throughout New Zealand.
Media contacts:
David Johnston
Media Relations Manager
Rabobank New Zealand
Phone: 04 819 2711 or 027 477 8153
Email: david.johnston@rabobank.com
Denise Shaw
Head of Media Relations
Rabobank Australia & New Zealand
Phone: +612 8115 2744 or +61 2 439 603 525
Email: denise.shaw@rabobank.com