This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
TWO years after being put to the market with expectations of around $30 million, an award-winning luxury wool fibre-producing enterprise established in central Victoria’s Macedon Ranges region nearly 30 years ago has found a buyer.
Bill Craig and investment banker Simon Mckeown’s Southern Pastoral Group are the new owners of sheep farm Avington Merino.
Spanning 1,196 hectares at Sidonia, about 75 kilometres from Melbourne and near Kyneton, Avington has been the breeding and grazing platform for the retiring Noel and Lyndsay Henderson’s Avington Merino, which was established in 1996 and one of the few global producers of luxury merino wool fibres.
The business has had an exclusive supply agreement with European textile manufacturers. Avington Merino became Australia’s first enterprise certified under the international sheep and wool welfare program, the Responsible Wool Standard, in 2017.
The property was put to the market through CBRE Agribusiness with about 87% of the site classed as high-quality arable and grazing area, including a fully automated and very reliable stock water system. At 520 metres elevation, the historic average annual rainfall is 755 millimetres, providing pasture for much of the year.
The property has been developed with state-of-the-art operational infrastructure and has a 15,000 dry sheep equivalent carrying capacity. Southern Pastoral Group has reportedly been running Merino-Border Leicester ewes for fat lamb production and some ultrafine wool production.
Avington also includes an architect-designed main residence, other accommodations and sheep-handling facilities, in addition to water security, operational efficiencies, and pasture development.
Avington was offered for sale on a walk-in-walk-out basis, inclusive of the current inventory of plant and equipment and the entire superfine and ultrafine sheep flock or can be purchased on a bare land basis if desired.
Southern Pastoral Group was established in 2021 and acquired the 529-hectare Balboora property at Pastoria, which has since been put up for sale.
