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Overview

ICBC (New Zealand) provides a $50 million NZD loan to Dilworth Trust to fund a major property acquisition

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$32,700,058
Commitment Year•2021Country of Activity•New ZealandDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•New ZealandOverseas Jurisdiction•New ZealandSector•EducationFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Completion

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Jan 1, 2021
Start (actual)
Jan 1, 2021
End (actual)
Jan 1, 2021

Stakeholders

Organizations involved in projects and activities supported by financial and in-kind transfers from Chinese government and state-owned entities

Ultimate beneficial owners

At least 25% host country ownership

Funding agencies

State-owned Commercial Banks

  • Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (New Zealand) Limited (ICBC New Zealand) (ICBC NZ)

Receiving agencies

NGO/CSO/Foundations

  • Dilworth Trust

Loan description

ICBC (New Zealand) provides a $50 million NZD loan to Dilworth Trust to fund a major property acquisition

Interest type•Unknown

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

Sometime around 2020 and 2021, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (New Zealand) Limited (ICBC NZ) entered into a $50 million NZD credit line loan agreement with Dilworth Trust — a New Zealand-incorporated non-profit charitable trust that owns the Dilworth School, a boarding school for boys in Auckland — to fund a major property acquisition by the trust. The Dilworth Trust's assets made it the richest school in New Zealand, with the most valuable investment property of any New Zealand charity, with dozens of properties in Auckland, Newmarket, Remuera, Manukau, and Wellington. The loan came a point of contention amidst a sexual abuse scandal concerning the Dilworth School, with allegations of sexual abuse against the students from the 1950s until the 2000s that the school covered up. The Dilworth School faced a class action lawsuit from dozens of survivors of sexual abuse launching a class action lawsuit against it. Dilworth set out $55 million NZD to pay out abuse claims, which was criticized as small proportionate to the $1.2 billion NZD assets of the trust, with the ICBC NZ loan was brought up as unusual amidst this activity. By 2024, ICBC NZ had either entered into a new $60 million NZD loan facility or up-sized the existing $50 million NZD facility to have a $60 million NZD limit with Dilworth Trust. This facility was secured by (i.e. collateralized against) a portfolio of investment properties and carried a maturity period of at least one year, with a maturity date in 2025 and an interest rate based on BKBM plus a fixed margin, and with fees. The facility included covenants requiring a maximum permitted loan to value ratio of 50%, a minimum interest cover ratio of 2:1, and a weighted average lease term that is higher than the unexpired term of the facility with a minimum of 36 months. The facility had the right to reborrow if it was in compliance with the terms of the facility. As of January 2024, $52.2 million NZD was drawn down. As of December 31, 2024, $25 million NZD was drawn down. In April 2025, ICBC NZ entered into an agreement with Dilworth to extend the maturity period by two years, to mature in 2027.