Wool producers McBrides put Victoria’s biggest farm up for grabs
Telopea Downs, Victoria’s largest grazing and cropping property, is back on the market only seven years after it was bought by one of the country’s biggest wool producers, AJ & PA McBride.
It was the family’s biggest acquisition in almost 90 years and was bought from Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund-owned Hassad Australia for more than $70 million, a record at the time.
Now it is worth as much as $123 million, according to the independent valuation recorded in the company latest accounts.
The 47,677-hectare Telopea Downs straddles the South Australia-Victoria border near Kaniva. It is an aggregation of 11 neighbouring properties, with most on the Victorian side, and currently carries around 85,000 Merino and crossbred sheep and over 1100 cattle.
Nathan Wessling, the chief executive of South Australia-based AJ & PA McBride, said the decision to sell its second most valuable farm was consistent with a long-term strategy of realising gains from properties that had experienced strong capital growth.
“If you look back over McBride’s history, you’ll see there has been a strategic divestment around each decade and the sale of Telopea Downs is consistent with that investment strategy,” Wessling said.
“Indeed, it’s a real success story, having achieved the growth anticipated more quickly than expected, off the back of a solid seven-year performance for Australian agriculture,” he added.
AJ & PA began operations in 1920. Its shares are still held by descendants of the founders and it is chaired by Nick McBride, a farmer and independent member in South Australia’s lower house of parliament. Once best known for its merino wool production, the company has diversified over the last two decades into beef, lamb and goats, as well as a winery in South Australia.
Telopea Downs, a mixed grazing and cropping property, also hosts the company’s Angus beef stud, which would be run on another property under the sale.
The company’s 10-property portfolio was valued at $560 million in its 2024–25 financial accounts. It recorded a $12.5 million loss, lower than the previous year’s $17.5 million, which it attributed to low prices for lamb, sheep meat and beef, as well as for fine wool prices. Feeding costs also rose amid poor conditions in the south-east of South Australia.
“As we prepare for the next generational shift, it makes sense to ensure there is sufficient liquidity in the business, while continuing to position the company for growth in a strong, united and sustainable way,” Wessling said.
“We are very committed to continuing to play our role in the future of the Australian agricultural sector as a proud producer of Merino wool and operator of other agricultural interests.”
Colliers’ Jesse Manuel, who is handling the sale with colleague Tim Altschwager, said Telopea Downs was “a significant farming operation by any measure” and had benefited from its present and previous owners’ improvements to land and pasture.
McBride employs 90 people across its various properties and said it would be looking to maintain all staff from Telopea Downs within the AJ & PA McBride network.
