Rapidly growing agribusiness company Platinum Livestock has given itself a statewide footprint in a merger with Southern Australian Livestock.
Under the deal finalised this week, the two SA-based Ruralco businesses will continue to trade under their respective banners – Platinum Livestock in the northern areas of the state and Southern Australian Livestock in the Limestone Coast – but are now owned by Platinum Livestock directors Peter Cook and Wayne Hall, in partnership with Ruralco.
The move will see it easily become SA’s largest independent agency with nearly 30 livestock agents spread across the state from Ceduna to Mount Gambier, as well as 12 merchandise stores and a strong real estate and insurance presence.
Platinum Livestock director Wayne Hall said it was an exciting move that made good business sense.
“We have a great amount of confidence in agriculture and are still in a real growth strategy, but we are putting together some of the back office and different functionality into one group,” he said.
He said it was a privilege to buy into a business in which he had so much respect for the “founding fathers” and one that had such a strong staff and client base.
“We have quite a few clients with land both in the north and south of the state but we are also dealing with the same suppliers, processors, feedlotters and live exporters in both areas so now we can go to the market with a complete supply chain,” he said.
The role of Southern Australian Livestock’s general manager has been made redundant due to the duplication of roles but Mr Hall said it would be business as usual for all their other agents.
Platinum was established as a real estate and merchandise business in 2010 by Peter Cook and Rob Calaby, who now runs the Ruralco real estate business out of Clare.
Three years later, Mr Hall came on board to develop the livestock business.
Platinum operates merchandise stores on the Eyre Peninsula and Mid North as part of the CRT network.
It sells weekly at the SA Regional Livestock Exchange, Dublin, and owns the new Crystal Brook saleyards through sister company, Combined Independent Agents Association.
Southern Australian Livestock, which has offices across the South East, was founded in 1984 by the late Frank Escott, the late Kevin Lewis, Brian Russell, Bob Atkinson and Peter Vile.
It was sold to Ruralco about a decade ago.
