Beston Global Dairy assets and property sold in liquidation process

Investors are snapping up Beston Global Dairy’s assets, months on from the spectacular collapse of the South Australian processor. See the latest.

More than $14m has been recouped from the sale of Beston Global Food Company assets, with buyers still being sought for some of its property holdings.

South Australian-based Beston was placed in liquidation in February after battling operating costs and the poor operational performance of its main cheese and whey powder business.

Liquidators KPMG appointed Pickles Auctions to manage the sale of Beston’s key dairy processing assets from its Jervois and Murray Bridge sites.

More than 450 lots were placed on the market including stainless steel tanks, shipping containers, new pumps and motors, irrigation and warehousing equipment.

Pickles finance and advisory executive manager Gavin Dempsey said total sales were expected to exceed $14m.

“This was one of the largest dairy equipment sales we’ve seen in Australia,” he said.

“The response from the market has been exceptional. Across three auctions, with one still to go in June, and a highly competitive EOI process, we’ve cleared the vast majority of Beston’s assets.”

Mr Dempsey said the three-stage asset sales process was rolled out over a six-week period.

“Bidding was strong across the board, particularly from dairy producers in NSW and Victoria who saw this as a rare opportunity to invest in high-quality processing equipment,” he said.

“Sale one saw 99 per cent clearance, and sales two and three both closed at around 95 per cent, exceeding our expectations.

“We’re now in the final stages of asset removal, with handover of the Jervois site expected by the end of June.”

Beston Global Food Company dairy site at Jervois.

Colliers Agribusiness has been appointed to sell the company’s Jervois dairy site, near Tailem Bend, and five nearby parcels of rural land.

Beston’s other dairy processing site at Murray Bridge was sold in April.

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.

All have been previously been used for dairy cattle grazing.

Colliers has not attached a price to the listings, with expressions of interest for the property portfolio to close on June 11.

Beston’s operations were wound down in early December with 150 workers losing their jobs and dairy farmers who supplied ­the processor owed more than $11m.

Former South Australian Dairyfarmers Association president John Hunt was one of several suppliers caught up in the Beston collapse.

He said the 2024-25 demise of the company was a salutary lesson for the sector.

“Farmers that supply the raw product are often the last ones in line for payment. That doesn’t just hit the farmer, but all the people and businesses that rely on them too,” the Mount Gambier region farmer said.