Planning has begun on finding a successor to oversee Southbury Group, which has a controlling interest in South Canterbury Finance.
Southbury Group is controlled by interests associated with Timaru accountant Allan Hubbard, who is the principal owner of South Canterbury Finance Group.
Chief executive of South Canterbury Finance (SCF), Lachie McLeod, said with Mr Hubbard nearing 80 years of age, it was time to consider succession options and opportunities, and this would happen over the next few months.
Mr McLeod said the market would be kept informed.
The influence of Mr Hubbard was demonstrated last Friday when he injected $40 million in new capital into SCF, after its poorly performing loan book had a $58 million write-down.
That write-down turned an expected $21 million profit into a $37 million loss for this year, the company's first bottom-line loss since 1934.
Mr McLeod said Mr Hubbard remained a defining feature of SCF, setting the company apart from other finance companies and providing resources that maintained financial stability during the financial crisis.
