This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
AUSTRALIA’S richest person, Gina Rinehart has offloaded four S. Kidman & Co cattle stations across the Northern Territory and Queensland for more than $200 million.
The 2.4 million hectares of land divested include three Queensland stations Durrie, Naryilco and Glengyle to the Appleton Cattle Company, and the 457,000-hectare Brunchilly Station in the Northern Territory to the Harris family’s Cleveland Agriculture.
They were put to the market in November with a value in the region of $120 million to $150 million.
“The sale of these properties is consistent with S. Kidman & Co’s strategy of divesting properties where significant investment has improved them by focussing on essential maintenance and specific areas including improved animal welfare and employee safety, the use of technology and innovation and improvements across the herds,” a statement said.
The sale follows Rinehart’s S. Kidman & Co divesting about $300 million worth of the portfolio across six stations, making for half a billion dollars’ worth in sales.
Rinehart partnered with Chinese property developer Gui Guojie’s Shanghai CRED in 2016 to acquire the S. Kidman and Co. portfolio for $386.5 million.
Elders’ new Rural Property Update shows bumper harvests, record commodity prices and tight supply saw farmland prices rise by more than 36% over the past two years – by over 18% in each of 2021 and 2022 – and forecasts a moderation to single-digit growth in 2023.
Rinehart’s Hancock Agriculture has a 67% stake in S. Kidman and Co through Australian Outback Beef, with Cred Pastoral owning the balance. The Kidman portfolio was established in the 1890s by Sir Sidney Kidman and spanned almost 11 million hectares in Western Australia, South Australia, the NT and Queensland when it was offered up for sale in 2015.
Now, the portfolio covers two million hectares across four properties, being Morney Plains, Durham Downs and Rockybank in Queensland, and Helen Springs in the NT.
Hancock Agriculture still has operations in NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and the NT, and owns a 12,000-plus strong Wagyu herd – one of country’s largest. Its Santa Gertudis and Kidman Premium beef brands are served at luxe restaurants here and abroad.
“S. Kidman & Co will continue to operate its remaining stations located in the NT and Queensland to produce high-quality beef products and remain committed to preserving the Kidman legacy and history, including retaining all Kidman intellectual property, including logos, business names and marketing brands,” said the statement.
It also said the sale would provide further capital to “focus on purchasing and improving other properties for S. Kidman & Co’s agricultural operations”.
The Department of Agriculture is forecasting agricultural production to hit a record $90 billion in this financial year, and be again above $80 billion in FY24.
In November, Hancock Agriculture picked up three irrigated cropping farms in the NSW northwestern slopes for about $150 million.
