Prominent cropping and sheep farm up for grabs at $50m
A prominent cropping and sheep farm near Esperance in Western Australia, associated with the descendants of a British tea entrepreneur, has hit the market with expectations of $50 million or more.
About 45 kilometres west of Esperance, on the state’s south coast, The Oaks spreads over 5295 hectares. Historically, the property has been an award-winning sheep farming enterprise run by the Malaysia-based Russell family, with more than half its land dedicated to pasture.
More recently, however, the property has shifted to a 70/30 split between cropping and pasture. That shift could be considered timely as sheep farmers across the state prepare for the phasing out of live animal exports to the Middle East by 2028.
The Esperance farm is controlled by JA Russell (Australia), which is linked to the family company of British entrepreneur John Archibald Russell, who established tea gardens in Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands in the late 1920s, founding the company now known as Boh Tea. One of Australia’s largest tea producers, Nerada Tea, is owned by Boh Plantations and JA Russell (Guernsey).
Meanwhile, at The Oaks considerable investment has been made over the past five years into the property’s soil, machinery and infrastructure.
Proximity to the coast provides a favourable environment for high-yielding crops, as well as the three river systems that run through the property. Logistically, The Oaks also benefits from its relative closeness to the Esperance port.
Colliers’ Rawdon Briggs, Duncan McCulloch and Gabi Mewburn have been appointed to broker The Oaks, along with AWN Rural’s Rowan Spittle.
The Oaks offering is the latest major cropping and sheep aggregation to hit the southern Western Australian market in recent months. In one of the biggest deals over the past two years, WA property developer Julian Walter sold his mixed-farming operation, Cherylton Farms, for a record $100 million.
Operations at the 8554-hectare property in the state’s Great Southern Region focus on high-yield cropping, such as barley, wheat and canola, along with sheep. It was sold on a walk-in, walk-out basis in early 2023 to Excel Farms, a Victorian business led by Nick Paterson and backed by Canadian investor Fiera Comox Partners.
