THE irrigated and dryland farming and cattle grazing property known as Collymongle is rumoured to have been sold for more than $40 million to the Zell Family of Taroo, Collarenebri.
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The sale has been described as representing one of the largest value sales in NSW in the past 12 months and showed the faith Australian farming families have in agriculture in Australia. The rumoured $40m pricetag has not been confirmed by selling agents, but was published in a recent edition of The Land newspaper.
Formally owned by the Kahlbetzer Family’s Twynam Pastoral Co, Collymongle consists of about 35,600 hectares and is located in the Collarenebri district about 115km west of Moree and 30km east of Collarenebri on the Gwydir Highway. The property was originally part of the Colly Cotton operation bought by Twynam Pastoral Co in 1999.
The Kahlbetzer family, whose wealth is estimated by BRW magazine at $772 million, is clearly winding down its agricultural empire in Australia, although Mr Kahlbetzer neither confirms nor denies this intention.
“We always review our options as they arise but there is nothing we are currently looking at (in agriculture),” he said.
The family has sold more than $400 million in agricultural land and water rights in the past four years.
The Zell family, consisting of Bill and Judy, Gavin and Jenny and Wayne Zell, have farmed as a family partnership in the district and built their farming business up over many years, putting themselves in a position to buy Collymongle, which is a tremendous achievement for a private enterprise.
The sale was negotiated by Landmark’s NSW real estate manager, Phil Rourke and Landmark Harcourts real estate specialist, Paul Thomas working through the Moree branch. Rob Clayton, Landmark regional manager of central NSW, assisted in the sale process as the liaison with the Zell family.
Negotiations were conducted over many months with a good result secured for both parties. The property is due to settle midway through this year following the picking of the current cotton crop.