Leading beef property Deltroit Station at Gundagai sold to MH Premium Farms

ONE of Australia’s biggest landholders has added to its extensive portfolio with the purchase of the leading beef cattle operation Deltroit Station.

Sold: Deltroit Station, Gundagai.

ONE of Australia’s biggest landholders has added to its extensive portfolio with the purchase of the leading beef cattle operation Deltroit Station at Gundagai.

MH Premium Farms, owned by British-Australian businessman Sir Michael Hintze, bought the productive 2573ha property for a price believed to be between $16 million and $19 million from Australian Pastoral Group.

The sale signals the end of the short-lived reign of APG run by former Macquarie executive Alan Hayes, which owned Deltroit Station along with two other properties in Queensland the 143,000ha Neumayer Valley and the 5,902ha Kinbeachie. All three have now been sold.

APG was founded in 2012 with the backing of four major institutional investors and bought Deltroit Station in 2013 reportedly for $15.5 million.

MH Premium Farms now owns 10 large mixed grazing and cropping properties in NSW and Queensland.

Selling agent Sam Triggs from Inglis Rural Property, which conducted the expressions of interest sale, said the strong interest from five bidders, including Chinese bidders, had been driven by the strength of the current beef and lamb market.

The property with fertile creek flats rising to soft undulating farming and grazing country has been used to fatten steers, turning off up to 4500 head a year.

It boasts substantial improvements including a heritage 1903 Federation-style homestead with five bedroom that was extensively renovated in 1979 and again in 2000.

Other features are marble fireplaces, heated pool, tennis court and 6ha of mature gardens.

Also on hand are the original stables and coach house, fully refurbished as two self-contained flats, a five-bedroom manager’s home and a four-bedroom stone building that was once the Junction Hotel, built as a staging post for Cobb and Co. coaches in 1868.

Other infrastructure includes stables, dressage arena, 1250m airstrip, steel cattle yards, five-stand woolshed, grain, soilage and hay storage and two machinery sheds.

“As one of Australia’s fastest growing farm portfolios, the exchange represents a wonderful addition for MH Premium Farms in securing a highly productive beef, sheep and cropping property which complements their existing operations,” Inglis director, Jamie Inglis said.

“The acquisition of Deltroit Station increases MH Premium Farm’s portfolio in the south west slopes, achieving efficiencies of scale and noted synergies with their other high production farming investments,” Mr Inglis said.