Enprise Group ditches Oz for NZX listing

Software and services company Enprise Group has delisted from the Australian National Stock Exchange in favour of a New Zealand listing on the NZX Alternative Market, effective from December 1.

Chief executive Mark Loveys says the New Zealand market is better suited to investment and growth plans, noting that around half of the shareholders are Kiwis.

“We've got a strong New Zealand history and not the same track record in Australia,” Loveys says. “The shares didn't get a lot of profile over there.

“We're looking for investors, not speculators.”

Following the move, Loveys says he won't sell any shares, insisting; “I'm here for the long term.”

Loveys is one of New Zealand's best-known software entrepreneurs, known for his work as the original developer of the Exonet ERP business software solution, now called MYOB EXO, which is the most widely installed business software among mid-sized companies across Australia and New Zealand.

Other high-profile achievements include the development and sale of the EMS Cortex cloud provisioning software, sold to Citrix in 2011 for a reported $18 million.

Loveys was also a co-founder and major shareholder in Datasquirt, a call centre product sold to Californian call centre provider LiveOps for $16.4 million in 2011.

The cashed up Datasquirt shell became the vehicle for the Enprise Australian listing but the Enprise name wasn't as well known there as Datasquirt, which Loveys says contributed to the lack of profile there.

Loveys says the business strategy of Enprise Group, which has two offices in Australia, is to create a platform for profitable growth through acquisitions as well as organic growth.