Former Mars executive lists Southern Tablelands cattle farm for $20m
Former Mars executive and lawyer David Newby is offloading his 1300-hectare-plus cattle farm in NSW’s Southern Tablelands with $20 million price hopes.
Spanning 1327 hectares across its combined North Raeburn and Wyaroo holdings in the Breadalbane area, North Raeburn Aggregation supports a commercial Angus cattle enterprise with about 800 breeders.
North Raeburn was part of the Chisholm family pastoral empire from when it was first established in the 1830s to 2010. It was then acquired by the WA native, who formerly worked in Washington and London.
The aggregation was further expanded in 2015 with the purchase of the adjoining Wyaroo holding, initially subdivided for a soldier settlement after World War II.
It has since grown to be one of the area’s biggest beef enterprises and is part of the Newby family’s wider agricultural business which is based at its heritage-listed Oldbury Farm in Sutton Forrest, about an hour away – a farm first established in 1882.
Now, Newby and his wife Jane are preparing for their retirement, prompting them to list the aggregation for sale.
“I’ve had a great time of it, and I must say, it’s one of the most interesting and rewarding things I’ve done is get into this agriculture world,” he told The Australian Financial Review.
“It’s just the sense that you’re doing something which is worthwhile and doing it properly that I thoroughly enjoy. I’m 81 and I’ve had a great run. I now would like to free myself up to do some more things.”
The Angus breeding herd, developed over 15 years, was sold in June and the properties were now for sale, he said
“If I were 20 years younger, I’d be buying, not selling,” Newby said.
The farm business was commercial and profitable on top of having paid management because of the size and quality of the land, Newby said.
The listing is being managed by Inglis Rural Property’s Sam Triggs, Hamish Cooke and Liam Griffiths.
Triggs said the aggregation represented scale and productivity as well as continuing the legacy from the Chisholm family’s pastoral beginnings through to the Newby family’s modern, disciplined approach to land and livestock management.
“The Newby family’s investment in land, pastures and infrastructure, combined with professional oversight, has created an enterprise of exceptional quality that will appeal to both institutional and private purchasers,” he said.
The overall rural property market had “rallied” in the past four years and corrected slightly, but market conditions had since improved, Triggs said.
“Cattle prices are good. Sheep prices, land prices are breaking records, and it’s a good season. The dollar is relatively low, so it makes our exports competitive,” he said. “The outlook is good, and there’s a good inflow of interest from investors and capital into rural land from international investors.”
The property also features a three-bedroom, two-bathroom residence with multiple living areas and an open-plan kitchen, as well as a self-contained studio.
An equipped bore and reticulated troughs, surface dams and creek catchments are part of its stock water network. There are also modern steel cattle yards, two machinery sheds, a workshop, woolshed and ancillary yards.
