Gladstone purchases more land in California and Florida

The Nasdaq-listed real estate investment trust (REIT) Gladstone Land said on Monday it had bought five farms.

The deal comprises 3,519  acres of irrigated cropland in California and Florida, for approximately $35 million, according to the press release.

Gladstone is also evaluating six additional properties totalling 5,476 acres in Colorado, Florida, Georgia and Nebraska for approximately $23 million, under non-binding letters of intent. This would double the firm’s acreage.

Transactions are expected to close within the next couple of months, the company said in a statement.

Gladstone is apparently not driven away by the severe drought i California. In an early May interview with Agri Investor, the REIT’s chief executive David Gladstone, told the publication that water shortages have not impacted the company’s portfolio in California.

“All the farms we own and are evaluating for purchase have very strong water sources and are in regions that, in our opinion, are at minimal risk of having any water restrictions imposed that would impact these farms,” Gladstone said in a statement.

For the first quarter ended 31 March, the company’s operating revenues increased by 12 percent over the previous quarter, driven by new acquisitions, Gladstone noted in an earnings call. It returned a net income of $24,574 in the first quarter, down from $55,000 the previous quarter.

Gladstone invested $4.5 million in an organic farm in Florida in March.

As of 31 March, the company owns of 8,789 acres across 34 farms in five different states across the US, valued at approximately $215 million.