Craigmore eyes September final close

The New Zealand dairy fund manager is expecting to close on just over NZ$200m, concluding four years of fundraising.

Craigmore Farming Partnership, a New Zealand own-and-operate dairy fund manager, is set to close on just over NZ$200 million ($167 million; €126 million) at the end of September, according to Jack Randall, head of communications. It is the firm’s first fund.

The firm was originally aiming for a final close in June on NZ$250 million, but has been awaiting confirmations from a few investors over the summer, according to Randall.

Craigmore began deploying capital after its first close in December 2010 on NZ$10 million. The fund held a subsequent close on NZ$125 million in June 2013. The amount of capital already deployed was not disclosed.

Craigmore has been targeting a mix of investor types including high net worth individuals, family offices and institutional investors. The latter are expected to account for around one-third of the fund’s LP base at final close.

The collective investment vehicle is expected come to an end between 2020 and 2023, although there is scope for investors to hold their assets beyond that point, according to the firm.

The fund is targeting returns of 12.5 percent each year. Operational returns will account for just over half of this, with land asset values accounting for the remainder. Existing assets have already returned 20 percent since December 2011. It plans to pay an annual dividend of 5 percent from 2015.

Craigmore charges fees of 1 percent on all drawn down capital and 0.3 percent of gross asset value as a farm management fee. It also takes a 15 percent performance fee over an 8 percent hurdle with a full catch-up at a 50 percent rate.