A massive mixed enterprise property — with an equally huge history — is up for sale in Tasmania's midlands, with an asking price of more than $100 million.
Spanning 4,448 hectares and traditionally a mixed merino and cropping enterprise, Vaucluse Estate was purchased in 2015 by US-based private equity firm Proterra Investment Partners.
At that point, the property was just over 2,600 hectares but it has since grown to include several neighbouring titles.
Land Agribusiness Water Development (LAWD) senior director Danny Thomas is overseeing its sale.
"We've been in the market about a week, and we've had more than 75 enquiries already and we've commenced inspections," he said.
“We’ve got the whole gamut of potential buyers so far. Some of the interest is from well-established domestic players.
Slice of history
The heritage-listed homestead at Vaucluse Estate was built in 1830, as a four-story brick and stucco building, then renovated in 1940.
Its longest period of ownership was by the Mackinnon family, who lived there for about 80 years, from the 1880s to the 1960s.
During this time it became known as a leading Australian Corriedale sheep stud, with wool clips reaching national price records.
The property is representative of a greater change in the Tasmanian midlands, as more growers move to heavier investment in irrigation and cropping.
Mr Thomas was not shy about when asked about the goals of the sale.
“We’re seeking offers of over 100 million, and I think we’ll roll that in.”
Massive irrigation
Vaucluse sits on the banks of the South Esk River with nearly nine kilometres of direct frontage.
Despite the region only receiving around 500 millimetres of annual rainfall, it is tapped directly into Tasmania’s irrigation network, providing access to a formidable source of year-round water.
“There’s in excess of 2,000 hectares of linear irrigation, and 400 hectares of hard hose irrigation,” Mr Thomas said.
“There’s also 15,000 megalitres of water entitlements and more than 9000 megalitres of water storage.
The property is currently used for an intensive double cropping system, with a focus on high-yielding crops like potatoes, poppies, carrot seeds and hemp.
It also has a significant component of cereals, oilseeds, and legumes, run in conjunction with grazing sheep and cattle.
Silo facility
Vaucluse also has a silo facility at nearby Powranna, capable of storing more than 5,000 tonnes of grain, which is expected to attract separate bids from buyers not interested in the property itself.
Mr Thomas said the property will continue to operate as normal through the sales process.
"There's a really competent staff there, an established work crew, so really it's ready-made for someone to step into their shoes and continue running it as it has been," he said.
