Growth Farms I buys northern NSW property for A$10m

Growth Farms Australia Fund I, the Australian sheep and cropping farmland fund, has acquired a farm aggregation in northern New South Wales – Carnarvon Farm and Kiari Farm – for around A$10 million ($7.8 million; €6.9 million). This is the fund’s second acquisition after it bought a 486-hectare property in south-west Victoria last month.

The 1,866 hectare property grows canola, wheat, chickpeas and sorghum, and includes some infrastructure assets including grain storage, grain drying facilities, irrigation pumps and water storage. This infrastructure is in good condition with very little capital expenditure required, according to David Sackett, managing director of Growth Farms.

The aggregation also has the ability to grow three crops in two years, according to the press release. Growth Farms has identified “a high quality diversified portfolio or sale to other family farm business” as the potential exit strategy for the property.

Growth Farms announced a first close of its first fund on A$35 million ($27 million; €24 million) in April after CBRE Global Investment Partners brought a UK insurance company commitment.

The 10-year private equity fund is targeting A$150 million overall and Growth Farms hopes to close it by the end of the year. Growth Farms has A$400 million in separate accounts under management.