THE University of Adelaide has offloaded its prized rural property Munduney at Spalding, north of Adelaide, for more than $20 million, constituting one of South Australia's biggest rural transactions on record.
The walk-in, walk-out purchase by a local farmer includes 11,000 sheep and reflects the ravenous appetite for lambing operations, where prices have been continually breaking records this year, reports The Australian Financial Review .
The benchmark lamb price – the "eastern states re-stocker lamb indicator" – is still over $5.50 per kilogram and mutton is still achieving well over $4 despite some easing in price over the past few weeks.
The 7510-hectare Munduney is the second sheep station bequeathed to the university that it has sold to raise funds for investment in teaching and research facilities in agriculture and animal science.
Last year it sold part of the property Martindale for just under $14 million as part of a 73,400ha portfolio of rural land it placed on the market through Landmark Harcourts.
Regarded as one of the best pieces of land in the state, Munduney was purchased with 4000ha of planted crops as well. The sale was negotiated by Landmark Harcourt's Simon McIntyre, who declined to comment on transaction details except to say the property had attracted a lot of attention.
The property also has a guaranteed revenue stream until at least 2033 from 18 wind turbines.
The sale also signifies the activity in sheep grazing properties around Australia at a time when the rural property market is largely depressed.
Major players such as the Qatar government-backed Hassad Foods, the personal pension fund of London-based hedge fund manager Michael Hintze, and Macquarie Bank's Paraway Pastoral have all been buying sheep grazing properties.
