Latest / Best of Business / Cade Thornton: Cardrona co-owner on the surging buyer interest in the iconic hotel

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Cade Thornton: Cardrona co-owner on the surging buyer interest in the iconic hotel · Best of Business

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from News Talk zed B.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Follow this and our Wide Ranger podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: Arguably one of the most iconic hotels in New Zealand,
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  Speaker 2: the Kadrona Hotel. It is set for sale later this year.
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  Speaker 2: The owner is asked for offers in a month's time,
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  Speaker 2: but it is looking like it's setting the record as
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  Speaker 2: New Zealand's most viewed for sale property of all time.
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  Speaker 2: This morning it was at twenty eight thousand, and we'll
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  Speaker 2: find out how many people who have looked very shortly.
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  Speaker 2: But the owner of the Kadrona Hotel is Caid Thornton
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  Speaker 2: and he joins us on the line right now. Cade,
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  Speaker 2: very good afternoon to.
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  Speaker 3: You, Good afternoon to you. How are you?
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  Speaker 4: Very good?
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  Speaker 5: Thanks, Kate, tell us the story about how you become
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  Speaker 5: the you became the owner of the Codrona Pub.
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  Speaker 3: It's a long time ago now, twenty twelve. We Mate
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  Speaker 3: and I were looking for changes after the earthquakes and
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  Speaker 3: Christis and organized a bit of a getaway in the dune,
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  Speaker 3: a bit of a roach around the South Island and
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  Speaker 3: came across the Cadrona Hotel. Loved it. Never knew it
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  Speaker 3: was the sale. I've got a great photo my business
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  Speaker 3: partner walking in in the pouring rain, and then we've
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  Speaker 3: got the crisis, sudden look at options, they didn't look out.
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  Speaker 3: And then it was my mother who found this place
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  Speaker 3: of sale. We thought, oh, well that wanted about afford
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  Speaker 3: that or I got we'll go down and have a look.
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  Speaker 3: And yeah, one thing led to another and after six
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  Speaker 3: months we ended up owning it. I'm still probably in shock.
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  Speaker 4: Actually, what do you think.
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  Speaker 5: The Kdrona Hotel has captured the imagination of the country
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  Speaker 5: now and for the longest time?
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  Speaker 4: What is it about it? Because it's a magical place.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't know what, there's not one thing I think.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, it's been you know, in famous in New
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  Speaker 3: Zealans forever. I think in space that went a long
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  Speaker 3: way to help that. And I just think geographically where
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  Speaker 3: it is, you know, it's between two tourist towns. Everyone visits,
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  Speaker 3: so it gets it gets gets noticed, I think, and
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  Speaker 3: in our time social media has become huge, so that's
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  Speaker 3: really taken it internationally famous as well. I think everyone
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  Speaker 3: who comes to the Zealand's got the photo.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Oh, it's on a hell of a lot of postcards.
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  Speaker 2: There's for sure, this will be hard question for your kide,
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  Speaker 2: but one or two of your best memories is owning
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  Speaker 2: the hotel. What would they be.
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  Speaker 3: Best memories? Well, just just running the icon, you know,
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  Speaker 3: twelve years worth of memory, really is There's so much
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  Speaker 3: that goes on and just just being part of it.
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  Speaker 3: It's always amazing when it snows bringing people out, you know,
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  Speaker 3: that's always a really really fun time, beautiful time, you know,
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  Speaker 3: very different to the rest of the country. When you
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  Speaker 3: get to snow on the ground around the business, it's
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  Speaker 3: I don't know, there's so many Prince Terry coming that
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  Speaker 3: was always memorable. I've got married and had kids in
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  Speaker 3: the time we've been here. It's just too many really, yeah, and.
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  Speaker 4: So and what well you miss the most about it?
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  Speaker 5: When when you when you leave and where are you going?
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  Speaker 3: Well, we're going to stay local with a family. We're
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  Speaker 3: going to stay living here, but we actually plan to
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  Speaker 3: travel around Australia for a year when we get the
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  Speaker 3: time and everything sorted. Just once again, like the memories
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  Speaker 3: of owning it. That will be the sad thing for me,
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  Speaker 3: not owning it, But it is time for us. This
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  Speaker 3: time for us to go.
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  Speaker 5: So a lot of people are obviously looking at this.
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  Speaker 5: And as soon as I saw that it was on
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  Speaker 5: the market, the Katrona Hotel, I texted my I text
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  Speaker 5: my partner. I said, we should buy this, We should
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  Speaker 5: we should move there.
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  Speaker 4: There's a really romantic idea of it.
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  Speaker 5: You move there, you become a member of the community,
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  Speaker 5: you serve people at such an iconic place. But how
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  Speaker 5: hard is it to actually run something like the Kadrona Hotel,
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  Speaker 5: Because I imagine the romantic idea of it. The rubber
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  Speaker 5: hits the road pretty soon, and there's quite a lot
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  Speaker 5: of hard work involved.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, there's not not men like put your seat up,
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  Speaker 3: drinking and wine in front of the fire. It's oh,
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  Speaker 3: it's been grunt of a business these days. We've nearly
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  Speaker 3: got fifty star half a year round. You know, in
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  Speaker 3: the old days, winter was bigger than summer. Now summers
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  Speaker 3: bigger than winter. I'm looking out the office window at
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  Speaker 3: the moment and the place is fall to the brim
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  Speaker 3: of skiers. It was always got a great, great vibe,
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  Speaker 3: super positive place to work and community to enjoy. But
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  Speaker 3: it's a I'm a hands on person. This is the
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  Speaker 3: way I've always run it and it's yeah, it's just
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  Speaker 3: consuming like any hospital business. But that's that's what a
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  Speaker 3: lot of people thrive on, you know, and the right
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  Speaker 3: person will just continue on like I have. Really it's
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  Speaker 3: it's you know, there's good days and bed days, but
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  Speaker 3: that's any business, right.
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  Speaker 5: So what would you be main advice be for the
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  Speaker 5: for the new owners when you when you hand over
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  Speaker 5: the keys, what.
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  Speaker 3: Did the staff say, come on, push, push, you know,
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  Speaker 3: work hard with work card with a smile. I think
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  Speaker 3: you know that's probably the big thing. Just keep working.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, you know, and sometimes you know, the best
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  Speaker 3: decisions that you make I can make here in the
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  Speaker 3: day sometimes aren't the best decision for me. There the
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  Speaker 3: best decision for the pub, you know, and you know
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  Speaker 3: in a long term and sometimes you know that it
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  Speaker 3: may not even be the best decision for the business
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  Speaker 3: on that day. But I'm always taking a long term due.
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  Speaker 3: I think it's probably listening in good Steed over the years.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so I've met and his partner. I want to
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  Speaker 2: make an offer. How long have they got to present
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  Speaker 2: their offer to your kid? Well?
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  Speaker 3: Expression Adventures closed on the fifteenth of allgress have you
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  Speaker 3: so you know you've got to get your offer in
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  Speaker 3: by then, plenty of homework to do.
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  Speaker 4: Have you got have you got a number in mind?
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  Speaker 3: I've got a number of mine.
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  Speaker 2: It's an ulterior motive here. He just wanted to try
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  Speaker 2: and screw you dout on it.
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  Speaker 5: Just by the way you say that, it sounds like
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  Speaker 5: a bigger number than I've got.
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  Speaker 3: I can't believe how popular it's been. I just looking
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  Speaker 3: trade me in. What's thirty three thousand?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah?
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  Speaker 1: Wow?
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  Speaker 3: About ten thousand hits on our the website we've built
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  Speaker 3: for the sale, you know, so forty thousand, that's what
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  Speaker 3: I'm taking of that. There's a lot of emails coming in.
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  Speaker 3: There's a huge amount of interest from from the right
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  Speaker 3: people too, which is great.
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  Speaker 5: Well, it's a testament to not only the history of
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  Speaker 5: the pub and it's iconic nature, but how well you've
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  Speaker 5: run it for the last twelve twelve years, because it's
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  Speaker 5: it's only grown and it's influenced across the country since
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  Speaker 5: you've been there.
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  Speaker 4: So something for you to be very proud of.
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  Speaker 3: Oh, thank you very much. It's very kind.
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  Speaker 2: Kate, all the very best, and thanks very much for
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  Speaker 2: having to yect.
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  Speaker 3: With us, no worries.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you for your time, all right, go Well, that
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  Speaker 2: is Caid Thornton, the current owner of the Katrona hotel
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  Speaker 2: and pub currently up for sale, and if you want
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  Speaker 2: to make a bit, you've got to get in by
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  Speaker 2: the fifteenth of August. Go Hi, go hi.
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  Speaker 4: I'm just texting him a number now.
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  Speaker 2: It's going to be too low already.
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  Speaker 5: If I do buy it and we move down there,
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  Speaker 5: me and my partner, you'll have to move down as well, Tyler, Yes,
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  Speaker 5: because we'll have to sit up the studio at the back.
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  Speaker 4: Perfect. So it's a big decision for you as well.
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  Speaker 2: I'll be a lifty in at the nighttime and then
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  Speaker 2: come in for the radio show in the afternoon.
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  Speaker 4: Perfect. You'll be cleaning the toilets when you're not on here.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not above that.
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