CPC sells second property to Cleveland Agriculture in A$30m deal

Consolidated Pastoral Company has sold its eighth property since October 2018, divesting Ucharonidge Station in the Northern Territory to Cleveland Agriculture.

This is the second CPC property that Cleveland Agriculture, owned by Malcolm Harris, has purchased. It previously bought the 852,306-hectare Nockatunga property in Queensland, which kick-started the sale of CPC’s portfolio.

The latest deal for Ucharonidge is understood to be valued at approximately A$30 million ($20.8 million; €18.4 million).

CPC, which is owned by UK-based private equity firm Terra Firma, did not respond to a request for comment on the deal prior to going to press.

Ucharonidge covers 245,550 hectares in the Northern Territory and has a carrying capacity of 19,870 head of cattle. The sale to Cleveland Agriculture has been made on a walk-in, walk-out basis.

The property has historically provided growing cattle to Nockatunga, making Cleveland Agriculture the “logical owner” of both properties together, CPC chief executive Troy Setter said.

“Ucharonidge is a good strategic fit for [Cleveland Agriculture’s] business and importantly, Malcolm and his team share our vision for investment in land development and precision pastoral management,” he said.

“CPC still has one of the biggest pastoral holdings in Australia, comprising 3.5 million hectares of land across nine stations with a carrying capacity of some 300,000 head of cattle, plus two feedlots in Indonesia with nearly 30,000 head of capacity. Our portfolio has strong geographic diversity as well as a valuable supply chain in Indonesia and remains attractive to buyers as a whole or in parts.”

CPC divested Manbulloo in the Northern Territory earlier this month to a consortium of domestic and foreign investors in a sale and leaseback deal, and sold two Queensland properties earlier this year to Baldy Bay, a company owned by cattle station operator Sterling Buntine, for approximately A$70 million in total.

The divestment process began in October 2018 with the sale of Nockatunga Station, followed by the sale of three cattle stations in NT and Western Australia to Vietnamese investment group Clean Agriculture and International Tourism for A$135 million.