This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
BILLION-dollar agricultural investor, manager and developer goFARM has splashed out $40 million for a NSW western Riverina region vineyard and 4,465 megalitres of attached water entitlements, in another major deal with Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed CK Life Sciences.
The 547-hectare Balranald Vineyard was owned by CK Life Sciences though its wholly-owned subsidiary Belvino Investments. CK Life Sciences has a $2 billion Australian rural and agricultural portfolio and is backed by the family of Li Ka-Shing, Hong Kong’s richest man.
At the end of last year, also in the Riverina, goFARM Australia spent $120 million on almond expansion with the acquisition of three properties near Griffith that were owned by CK Life Sciences.
ASX-listed Australian Vintage Limited (AVG) had previously occupied the Balranald Vineyard before flagging in May and confirming this month that it would be exiting the property, seven years before the scheduled end of its deal.
“Exiting the Balranald Vineyard lease is an important initiative as part of AVG’s relentless pursuit of optimising its sourcing strategy to meet changing consumer needs. As a vineyard producing 11,000 to 13,000 tonnes per annum, predominately red, in an environment with large red wine surplus, exiting this vineyard provides significant sourcing flexibility and cash flow benefits,” AVG said.
It is expected that goFARM will convert the vineyard into an olive grove, following a sizable drop-off in grape values in recent years.
While Australian farmland values have recorded a decade of uninterrupted growth, 2023 saw the pace of growth wind down, according to Rural Bank.
