Australian farm prices: 20 biggest sales of the 2020-21 financial year
The rural property market catapulted into uncharted territory in the last financial year, with the top 20 sales raking in a whopping $2.1 billion.
Australia’s 20 biggest farm deals of 2020-21 have raked in a staggering $2.1 billion-plus.
The rural property market has been catapulted into uncharted territory in the past year, as prices hit record highs off the back of historically low interest rates, improved seasonal conditions, record commodity prices and strong investor demand.
An investigation by TheWeekly Times has shown that of the biggest farmland deals of the financial year, one was worth more than half a billion dollars, six made $100m or more and eight fetched between $50m and $100m.
Heading the list was the sale of NSW cotton giant Auscott Limited, which US-based JG Boswell Company offloaded to Canada’s PSP Investments for more than $500m.
The deal — one of the biggest in Australian farming history — included 22,000 hectares of developed irrigation country, more than 143,000 megalitres of water entitlements and five ginning facilities.
PSP was also involved in the 12th biggest deal of 2020-21 — the $55m purchase of a portfolio of Gippsland dairy farms from Gray Wigg Pty Ltd, through its Aurora Dairies business.
The second-biggest deal of the year was the $357.35m sale of the Vitalharvest business — which owns citrus and berry farms leased to horticulture giant Costa Group — to Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets following a drawn-out bidding war with Roc Partners that forced an increase on its initial offer of $300m.
Rounding out the top three biggest deals was this month’s sale of Stanbroke Pastoral Company’s 438,000ha Miranda Downs Station in Queensland’s Gulf Country to the Hughes family of Hughes Pastoral Company for $180m.
Other major deals in the past 12 month involved UK-based billionaire hedge fund manager Sir Michael Hintze, who paid $100m to the Duddy family for its South Calandoon property at Goondiwindi in Queensland and $36m for the prized Minjah property at Hawkesdale in Victoria’s Western District.
Meanwhile, two landmark Tasmanian farms sold for a combined $68m this week, the biggest rural property sales in the state for decades.
Stonehouse at Lemont in the Southern Midlands sold for $47 million on a walk-in-walk-out basis.
The 7500ha sheep and cattle property was sold by Tony Seymour and purchased by Peter Downie, a sixth generation farmer and developer from Tasmania.
Mount Morriston, sprawling 9300ha at Ross, sold for $21 million to the Von Bibra and Millar families from Tasmania.
Both Stonehouse and Mount Morriston were sold by Shane McIntyre from CBRE and David Robertson from Agribusiness Services Tasmania.
Mr McIntyre said he regarded Tasmania as a “very attractive alternative to high rainfall mainland values offering versatile productive enterprises that present less complex irrigation options and consistent returns”.
“Farmland values in Tasmania have enjoyed an average rise in excess of 40 per cent over the last half decade,” he said.
“Astute investors should not ignore this trend, which is not showing signs of easing”.
1. $500 MILLION-PLUS
AUSCOTT LIMITED
SELLER: JG Boswell Company (US)
BUYER: PSP Investments (Canada)
DEAL: 22,000 hectares of developed irrigation country, more than 143,000 megalitres of water entitlements and five ginning facilities
2. $357.35 MILLION
VITALHARVEST
SELLER: Vitalharvest Freehold Trust (ASX listed)
BUYER: Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets
DEAL: Includes citrus and berry farms leased to Costa Group
3. $180 MILLION
MIRANDA DOWNS STATION, QUEENSLAND
SELLER: Stanbroke Pastoral Company
BUYER: Hughes Pastoral Company
DEAL: 438,000-hectare station and 55,000 cattle.
4. $129 MILLION
PIANGIL ALMOND ORCHARD, PIANGIL VIC
SELLER: United Almonds, Bright Lights Agribusiness and Lake Lucas Almonds
BUYER: Select Harvests (ASX-listed)
5. $104 MILLION
WAVE HILL STATION, KALKARINGI, NT
SELLER: Western Grazing Company
BUYER: Jumbuck Pastoral Co and three investors
6. $100 MILLION
SOUTH CALANDOON, GOONDIWINDI QLD
SELLER: Duddy family
BUYER: Michael Hintze Premium Farms (UK)
7. $98 MILLION
MOORAL ALMOND ORCHARD
SELLER: Rural Funds Group (ASX listed)
BUYER: Hancock Agricultural Investment Group (US)
8. $81.1 MILLION
SUGAR FARMS, BUNDABERG QLD
SELLER: MSF Sugar (Thailand)
BUYER: Rural Funds (ASX listed)
9. $80 MILLION
BANONGILL STATION, SKIPTON VIC
SELLER: Laguna Bay Agricultural Fund (US)
BUYER: Local farming consortium
10. $62.5 MILLION
DAIRY FARM PORTFOLIO, CIRCULAR HEAD, TAS
SELLER: Van Dairy Group (China)
BUYER: Prime Value Asset Management
11. $60 MILLION
YALOAK ESTATE, BALLAN, VIC
SELLER: Peter Yunghanns
BUYER: Harvest Agriculture (China)
12. $55 MILLION-PLUS
NAMBROK DAIRY PORTFOLIO, VIC
SELLER: Gray Wigg Pty Ltd
BUYER: Aurora Dairies, PSP (Canada)
13. $50 MILLION
MIDDLEBROOK STATION, NUNDLE NSW
SELLER: Formerly owned by Rifa Salutary (China)
BUYER: Domestic interests.
14. $47 MILLION
STONEHOUSE, LEMONT, TAS
SELLER: Tony Seymour
BUYER: Peter Downie
15. $42 MILLION
LAMATTINA CELERY FARM, MORNINGTON PENINSULA, VIC
SELLER: Lamattina family
BUYER: PrimeWest
16. $40 MILLION-PLUS
ROXBOROUGH DOWNS AND MUDGEREBAR STATIONS, BOULIA, QLD
SELLER: John and Kate McLoughlin
BUYER: McMillan Pastoral Company
17. $40 MILLION-PLUS
HENTY, CULCAIRN AND WALBUNDRIE NSW
SELLER: TIAA-CREF (US)
BUYER: Various local farmers
18. $36 MILLION
MINJAH, HAWKDESDALE, VIC
SELLER: Xinjiang Tianshan Animal Husbandry Bio-engineering
BUYER: MH Premium Farms (UK)
19. $35 MILLION
NARDOO STATION, CLONCURRY, QLD
SELLER: Peter and Annie Woollett
BUYER: Sam Daniels, Escott Station
20. $32.5 MILLION
BERRIGURRA STATION, BLACKWATER, QLD
BUYER: Hatton family
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