Rural Funds Group sells Mooral property at Hillston to US investors for $98 million

An almond orchard has sold for a whopping $98 million.  The property was snapped up by an investment group after it was listed for sale earlier this year. 

Huge sale: Mooral at Hillston, NSW has sold for a whopping $98 million.

AN ALMOND orchard in the NSW Riverina has been snapped up by American interests for a whopping $98 million in one of the biggest rural property deals of the year.

The 3841ha Mooral property at Hillston was purchased by Hancock Agricultural Investment Group, which is based in Boston.

Mooral was listed for sale by the ASX-listed investment trust Rural Funds Group at the end of April, with an asking price of more than $100 million.

The property consists of 808ha planted to almond trees, which are established at 12-13 years old, and has a secured long-term lease to supply Select Harvest.

Mooral’s water entitlements include 10,350 megalitres of lower Lachlan River groundwater, of which 3225 megalitres is subject to a lease, 470 megalitres of Lachlan River regulated high security and 1443 megalitres of Lachlan River regulated general security surface water.

In a statement to the ASX, Rural Funds said contracts had been exchanged for the sale of the farm “with a global agriculture and timberland investment manager as nominee for a special purpose vehicle that will be owned by pension funds and institutional investors”.

It said the sale was conditional on the completion of due diligence — “within 45 days but subject to possible extensions” — and Foreign Investment Review Board approval.

Founded in 1990, Hancock Agricultural Investment Group manages more than US$3 billion worth of farmland globally. Its clients consist of institutional investors.

Its assets span more than 190,000ha centred on the US, including California, the Mid West, the Mississippi Delta and the Pacific Northwest. Its Australian operations comprise 43,875 hectares in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland, including almond and macadamia plantings. Earlier this year it paid more than $120 million for 19,877ha of cotton and almond farms near Hillston in southern NSW from Harvard University’s endowment fund.

Last year Hancock purchased the 18,000-hectare Norman Farming aggregation near Toobeah in Queensland.

It also sold a portfolio of macadamia orchards near Bundaberg for almost $60 million.
According to its 2019-20 financial statement released today, Rural Funds had adjusted total assets of more than $1 billion at June 30, including 61 properties across five agricultural sectors — almonds, cattle, cropping, vineyards and macadamias.

Property revenue increased 8 per cent last financial year and the company said the positive financial results were largely due “to the ongoing expansion of the portfolio, primarily in the cattle sector, and independent valuation of various assets”. Its southern assets include the 6488ha Cobungra Station in Victoria’s high country, which it purchased for $35 million last year, and the 7756ha Kerarbury and Kamelda properties at Darlington Point in NSW.
The sale of Mooral is one of the biggest rural property transactions this year. Other notable sales include the $854 million takeover of the ASX-listed Webster Limited by Canada’s PSP Investments in February and the $97 million sale of West Australian Erregulla Plains property at Mingenew also to PSP.

When Mooral was listed for sale selling agent CBRE said it was rare for such a property to hit the market and interest from international and domestic buyers was anticipated.

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