May 31, 2023

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

After nearly 50 years in the hands of the same family, JLL Agribusiness has managed the sale of the entire 18,000-plus hectare (44,924-acre) Carson Family Portfolio (Ooraine Pastoral Company) located near the township of Dirranbandi on the lower Balonne floodplain in southwest Queensland, Australia. 

Initially listed for sale by JLL Agribusiness Directors Chris Holgar, Geoff Warriner, and Clayton Smith in February 2023, the 18,180-hectare portfolio consists of three properties. In 1975 the Ooraine Pastoral Company began with the acquisition of Ooraine Dirranbandi from the estate of Guy Elliott, after the Elliott family had owned the prize-winning Angus cattle stud and merino sheep property since the end of World War I. 

Four years later, in 1979, the Carsons expanded with the purchase of Hooloovale from Randal and Blyth Lampard, who had owned it for 60 years. This property originally included 4,450 hectares (10,996 acres) of flooded land, which has since been levied and had irrigation integrated progressively along the Culgoa River. Over the years, storage had been added to eventually total 9,811 megaliters of on-farm storage to service 471 hectares (1,164 acres) of irrigation. Together with the property’s reputation for heavy carrying capacity, this asset presents a significant opportunity for expansion of both dryland and irrigated farming. 

Then, in 1988, the portfolio expanded again to include Somerset. Adjoining Ooraine, this property, which was purchased from Michael Hill who had developed 1,295 hectares (3,200 acres) of dryland farming (producing 3.7 tons per hectares for the years 2020-2022) to complement the assets grazing capabilities. Today, further potential for development exists with the possibility of expanding dryland production acres by approximately 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres). 

Together, this portfolio has successfully operated as a mixed-farming operation centered on a prime lamb breeding flock of core merino and terminal crosses. And while exact details of the sale of these three properties remain undisclosed, Holgar, Warriner, and Smith confirmed that the three assets have been separately acquired by local families. 

“Interest in the portfolio was received from not only the south-west region but further afield, with strong domestic and foreign interest,” said Warriner.

Holgar noted that this strong interest existed despite rising interest rates, adding that part of the appeal of the Carson sale was the quality of development, presentation, diversified revenue streams, and the scope of land use change over the course of continued development of the farming business as buyers seek opportunities for consolidation and diversity in pursuit of value and returns. 

Additionally, there has been a string of favorable weather and growing conditions along with generally strong commodity prices, which have had  positive impacts on balance sheets. 

It was further noted that this trend of the strengthening of the private family within the market has been evident beyond the Carson deal, citing the S. Kidman & Co. sale of four stations located in Queensland and the Northern Territory in April of this year, also managed by JLL, which explained that all of its latest AUD200 million – AUD300 million (US$130 million – US$195.5 million) deals were all with private family buyers. 

“It is encouraging to see private buyers consistently competing at levels of value which might have almost been seen as reserved for institutions,” said Holgar. “There are now private buyers who are actively competing in that space, and often on terms that settle quicker and pose less executional risk for the vendor, for reasons such as the lack of requirement for Foreign Investment Review Board approval.”

“While we might see some more balance in the market between the private families and institutions moving forward, it’s not going to be the two-tier dynamic where larger transactions were somewhat reserved for institutions.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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