Timber! Otway plantations set to fall to new owner
24 properties making up the 2600 hectare Otway Plantation are for sale. Photo: Supplied

Timber! Otway plantations set to fall to new owner

One of Victoria’s largest plantation sites has been placed on the market, with listing agent CBRE touting its suitability for agricultural use.

But there’s a catch – any future owner will have to wait up to eight years to use the the entire 2600 hectares of land as they wait for forestry company New Forests, the existing owner and future tenant, to fell the trees.

CBRE’s Peter Ryan said the 24 plantation properties in Victoria’s Colac Otway region comprising the Otway Plantation Portfolio were being marketed for sale in a line or individually, with lease-backs to New Forests of up to eight years in place.

The Otways plantation currently consists of purpose-planted softwood tress used for wood pulp.

Mr Ryan said harvest of the existing plantation was expected to take place between 2019 and 2014, with each property to be handed over post harvest.

CBRE is positioning the offering as a choice between continued use as a plantation or conversion to farmland.

The new owner of the Otway Plantation may have to wait eight years to get hold of their land. Photo: Supplied The new owner of the Otway Plantation may have to wait eight years to get hold of their land. Photo: Supplied

“These sites are ideally located to benefit from continued plantation management – being within striking distance of export ports at Geelong and Portland, and close to processing facilities at Colac, Geelong and Portland,” Mr Ryan said.

otway-plantation-3 The site has strong agricultural potential, according to CBRE. Photo: Supplied

“Alternatively, as the properties receive over 1000 millimetres of rainfall annually, there is also opportunity to replant post-harvest to various forestry species or for conversion to a range of high-value agricultural and lifestyle pursuits.”

The site was previously owned by managed investment scheme Great Southern.

New Forests’ decision to market the Otway Portfolio follows the recent sale of its Gippsland portfolio – comprising 20 properties totalling more than 2200 hectares – on similar lease-back terms.

Mr Ryan said the portfolio had already generated a high level of interest from forestry companies, corporate investors, individual investors and local farmers seeking to expand.

The Otway Plantation Portfolio is being offered for sale via expressions of interest closing on August 5, 2016.

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