Tharri is the largest of Fairglen Farms’ broiler operations currently being offered for sale. Photo: Colliers

INSTITUTIONAL investors are driving movement in the broiler property market, underscoring sustained demand for agricultural assets that offer steady, passive income.

Recent listings include assets in all mainland states, and range from single small-scale operations to portfolios.

This comes as Fairfax family investment vehicle, Fairglen Farms, seeks to sell its larger operations, about a year after selling four of its farms to leading broiler developer and operator, ProTen.

Colliers agent based at Brisbane Nicholas Warmington said investors were attracted to the reliable “passive income” that comes from operating broiler farms.

Processors contract broiler farm owners to raise birds with the growers to provide the farm management, land, infrastructure, equipment, utilities and the labour needed.

Other requirements, such as feed and genetics are supplied by the processors.

Mr Warmington said for the duration of a contract, typically around five years, the broiler operator has a reliable source of income.

He said these returns aren’t generally as volatile as other agricultural commodities like cattle or grains.

“There’s no ups and downs, highs and lows,” Mr Warmington said.

“In the four- or five-year contract, you are getting pretty much the same each batch and the turnover is similar money.”

Mr Warmington said investors were recognising the “good money going for poultry”, and potential returns the asset class offered.

Fairglen Farms sells up

The Fairfax family’s Fairglen Farms launched in 2020, with the Australian Financial Review reporting that the investment vehicle had purchased farms near Tamworth in northern New South Wales and in south-east Queensland.

According to its website, Fairglen Farms aims to “growing our assets across Australia and New Zealand whilst developing long term strategic partnerships across the agricultural supply chain”.

Since 2023, Fairglen has appeared to be divesting from broiler assets reportedly to redeploy capital into other investments.

Fairglen Farms is offloading Wongin, a broiler farm located at Oldbury in Perth’s southern outer metropolitan area. Photo: Colliers

Grain Central understands that last year the company reportedly offered part of its broiler portfolio to market via investment bank, Barrenjoey.

Largescale broiler chicken operator, ProTen, purchased four of these operations, adding them to its portfolio of more than 50 farms.

ProTen chief executive officer James Wentworth confirmed the company had acquired two farms in South Australia and one each in Victoria and Queensland.

Owned by Aware Super, ProTen has significant holdings throughout NSW, Victoria, SA, WA and Queensland.

In November 2019, ProTen paid $72 million for ASX-listed Rural Funds poultry assets which included 17 broiler chicken farms.

“Our shareholder likes the industry and is happy to support our growth in it,” Mr Wentworth said.

Following last year’s process, Fairglen has opted to bring three operations to the market via separate listings.

The offerings include Tharri and Burrii located near Tamworth and Wongin, in the Peel region of WA.

The “flagship asset”, Tharri is one of the largest broiler farming operations in the Tamworth region, a major poultry production centre, and is approved to house over 1,600,000 birds per batch cycle.

Located only 20km south, Burrii offers an attractive investment proposition on a smaller scale, comprising five sheds and a placement of around 212,000 birds on 150ha of land.

A similar scale, Wongin comprises four broiler sheds, placing 212,000 birds per batch.

Colliers national director Jesse Manuel said all farms were underpinned by processor contracts and secure water entitlements.

“The sale of Tharri presents an excellent opportunity for investors to acquire a substantial agribusiness enterprise in an industry known for its regular and consistent income and very good returns,” Mr Manuel said.

“Burrii would couple well with the larger and nearby Tharri farm to form an attractive institutional scale group of assets, offering the ability to share resources over a larger asset base.

“Equally, it presents well as a standalone farm well suited to a private investor, family owner operators or local mixed farming operators looking to diversify their operations and utilise the surplus land for cropping and grazing.”

Alongside these listings Fairglen also offered Springale in January 2024, a 289ha irrigated cropping farm at Carrathool, and, in June 2023, listed Jirda for sale, a 57.6ha broiler farm at Muchea, WA.

Baiada’s Lilydale has listed Southern Cross Farms for sale, the second-largest free range farm in Australia. Photo: JLL

Other listings

In south-east Queensland, Mr Warmington and Jimmy Ashleigh are handling the listing of smaller scale, family-owned broiler farm, Valley View.

Located 4km from Beaudesert, the operation is miniscule compared to the Fairglen holdings, spanning 32.5ha with an annual production capacity of 772,560 birds.

Despite its size, Mr Wamington said there had been good interest in the property.

“This one is a bit too small for your larger corporates, it’s more for families.

“However, we have had a few investors come in and look at it, more small-term investors come and look at it to diversify a bit.”

He said corporate interest in these investments was strong with Colliers earlier this year handling the sale of nearby Cryna Poultry.

The 58.48ha broiler farm reportedly was bought by investor, Sandy Singh, for $15.6M.

Last month, JLL listed the Southern Cross Farms Portfolio, a string of four contiguous broiler farms located across SA’s lower and mid-north regions.

Offered by Baiada’s Lilydale brand, the holding is expected to fetch more than $20M.

JLL associate director Jock Grimshaw said the portfolio represented “a strong agricultural infrastructure play” that would attract strong corporate interest.

“With major players Baiada and Ingham’s remaining largely absent from the ownership and operation of ‘grow out’ farms, the industry is undergoing significant evolution, from a market dominated by private family farms to one that is quickly becoming institutionalised,” Mr Grimshaw said.

Rounding out the listings is Rosedale Poultry, a 354ha broiler farm located in the Gippsland region of Victoria.

Listed by LAWD, the property features two eight-shed farms with 400,000 bird capacity per farm.

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