Hancock Agriculture and JV partner put Australian beef assets for sale

Hancock Agriculture and joint venture partner S Kidman & Co. have appointed real estate specialist Elders to market a significant portfolio of northern Australian beef production assets.

The portfolio offered to market covers almost 1.9 million hectares of land across Western Australia WA) and the Northern Territory (NT), as well as carries a herd of around 108,500 cattle.

It also includes a feeding, export depot, and farming operation near Katherine, NT. The portfolio comes with an annual capacity to turn off up to 45,000 head of cattle.

The portfolio will be offered through a staged expression of interest process beginning this month.

Interested parties will be invited to submit offers for either all or part of the portfolio.

Elders’ general manager for real estate Tom Russo said: “This represents a rare opportunity to acquire a strategically constructed portfolio of assets at scale during a period of unprecedented growth in demand for quality Australian protein.”

Market conditions in Australia are considered favourable for the sale of the assets with cattle prices touching records, given that demand for beef has returned amid signs of global economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hancock Agriculture is reported to have invested extensively to improve the properties and is now exploring ‘to complete its investment cycle and focus on other areas of growth in its agricultural operations’.