ILT Experiencing Highs and Lows

The Invercargill Licensing Trust is down $7.2 million in the first quarter of the financial year, but hit a record profit of $974,000 from individual businesses in July.

Chief executive Chris Ramsay said, in his monthly report, that July benefited from the operation of its remodelled Homestead Restaurant and Bar, that was closed between June and December last year.

The ILT also received very good support for its other restaurant and bar operations, as well as retail bottle stores.

However, because the industry was reliant on Air New Zealand’s direct Auckland flights, August was a tough month after alert levels changed again – halting flights into the city.

Total sales for the year-to-date (April to July) were down 24 per cent, with bottle stores showing a sales increase of 3.2 per cent in July, compared to 2019.

Accommodation remained the hardest hit by the affects of Covid-19, with hotels and motels not receiving the strong numbers of domestic tourists as expected.

Chris said they were finding it “almost impossible” to plan ahead due to the Covid alert levels constantly changing.

“We’re completely at the whim of the Government. We have always viewed Alert Level Two as a level at which we will only make a minimal profit at best.”

The ILT has had to put off its Annual General Meeting until the end of the year because of current restrictions.

The following grant has been approved by the ILT in July:

Southland Art Society Inc: $10,000 to support 2020 ILT Art Awards For members’ information.

We can advise the following grants have been allocated by Trustees of the ILT Foundation:

Southland Badminton Association: $30,000 towards general manager wages, coaches, high performance development squad and administration costs.
Southland Table Tennis Association Inc: $11,000 towards operations manager, schools’ coordinator, coaching, operational costs for the next 12 months.
Order of St John: $17,539 towards annual servicing of defibrillators, pads/batteries, four new defibrillators and training.
Sport Southland A total grant to a level of $3,000 towards play equipment to be housed in a container in the inner city.
Royal NZ Foundation of the Blind: $2,500 towards the salary of the recreation officer and volunteer co-ordinator for 2020/21.
Epilepsy Association of NZ – Southland Branch: $3,750 towards salary support for the educator delivering the programme in Invercargill.
Kiwi Family Trust: $650 towards the purchase of wool for knitted items for agencies to pass onto families.
Southland Kennel Association: $1,000 towards travel costs for four New Zealand judges and one steward for shows in Invercargill from October 31 to November 1.
Windsor North School BOT: $1,250 towards four I-pads for classroom use.
Touch Southland: $20,000 towards staff wages, office rental, field hire and administration costs for the next 12 months.
Bowls Southland: $22,500 towards operating costs for 12 months in Invercargill.
Great South: $17,750 towards the ILT Kidzone Festival, specifically for storage costs and purchase of new equipment.
Southland Football Inc: $78,750 towards operational costs for the 2020/2021 year.
Southland Youth One Stop Shop: $12,500 towards director’s wages for the second half of the 2020/2021 year.
Sport Southland: $128,250 towards operational costs for the 2020/2021 year.
Athletics Southland: $2,000 towards costs of the Southland Festival of Running on Sunday October 11 2020.
Road Safety Southland: $2,500 towards the Drive My Life programme for vulnerable/at risk members of Invercargill community.