Beston Global Food Company dairy site put up for sale by liquidators

Liquidators are continuing a sell-off of dairy assets run by failed ASX-listed Beston Global Food, with a surprise buyer found for a high-profile factory.

The Beston Global Food Company dairy site at Jervois. Picture: Supplied by Colliers

Liquidators are continuing their sell-off of Beston Global Food Company’s property holdings following the dairy company’s collapse earlier this year, with buyers being sought for its dairy site and agricultural holdings near Tailem Bend.

Beston was placed in liquidation in February after battling high energy, transport and operating costs, and due to the poor operational performance of its main cheese and whey powder business.

Will Sumner and Tim Altschwager from Colliers Agribusiness have been appointed to sell the company’s Jervois dairy site and five nearby parcels of rural land following the sale of Beston’s other dairy facility at Murray Bridge in April.

Property records reveal X Convenience founder Steve Kosmidis paid $4.95m for the Murray Bridge property, which Beston took over in 2015 as part of its acquisition of United Dairy Power (UDP) and its two dairy sites.

The Kosmidis family sold its X Convenience petrol station chain to BP late last year.

The Beston Global Food Company dairy site at Jervois. Picture: Supplied by Colliers

Mr Sumner said the Jervois facility was once a “bustling hub of milk processing”, and now stood as an “exciting opportunity with a multitude of future industrial uses”.

“The dairy site presents as a great opportunity to secure an established industrial precinct with great access to both Murray Bridge and Adelaide,” he said.

“Given the building costs today, we are witnessing a growing trend of repurposing established sites, rather than starting from scratch.”

Four of the five rural land parcels range in size from 17.5ha to a little over 20ha, while a smaller parcel stretches across 5841sq m. They have been historically used for dairy cattle grazing.

Mr Sumner said interest was likely to come from local groups and buyers looking for a lifestyle property.

The five landholdings are for sale together or separately, while the dairy site is available as a stand-alone offering.

Expressions of interest close at 4pm on June 11.

Beston’s operations were wound down in early December with the loss of about 150 jobs, mainly in the dairy sector in South Australia, after the company collapsed under a large debt load.

When it collapsed, Beston, which listed on the ASX in 2015, owed $72.1m to its creditors, with $52.5m of that owed to NAB. Dairy farmers which supplied Beston were also owed $11.6m.

KPMG urgently tried to sell the business as a going concern, but was forced to shutter the operations after no binding offers for the business were received.

Liquidator, KPMG’s Tim Mableson, has previously told creditors that it was his opinion the company, which was placed in voluntary administration in September, was likely insolvent “from at least April 4, 2024”.

Originally published as Beston Global Food Company dairy site put up for sale by liquidators