The property and studs were sold for $18 million in 2021. Photos: Lawd/realestate.com.au.
Expressions of interest are continuing to be submitted for a prestigious 947.5-hectare mixed-farming asset near Cootamundra, which is owned by the billionaire media mogul Murdoch family through its agricultural business New Kayarem.
Springvale, at 1679 Stockinbingal Road, includes a renovated four-bedroom homestead with lawns and gardens, a three-bedroom cottage and two breeding studs able to support up to 11,500 sheep. It’s located about 90 minutes north of Wagga.
The property houses Bogo Genetics, the business behind sheep-breeding enterprises that sell more than 350 rams annually.
Land specialist real estate agency Lawd is managing the sale process and says the land and the two sheep studs can be bought separately.
The Cootamundra woolgrower Hicks family owned and managed Springvale for several decades before selling it to the Murdochs for $18 million in 2021.
“We think that the value of land has come back since then,” Lawd’s Colin Medway told Region. ”We expect the land to be somewhere around $16 million, excluding the studs.”
Mr Medway said the expressions of interest had been strong so far, but it was too early to tell whether the land and studs would be purchased by the same buyer.
Bogo Genetics general manager Matt Crozier said Springfield was an outstanding asset specifically purchased to grow and enhance the scope of the Merino stud, founded by Malcolm Peake more than 30 years ago.
“Malcolm retired last year and played a key role in the Merino stud industry, producing balanced sheep with commercially focused traits,” Mr Crozier said.
“Bogo Merino Stud represents the upper echelon of the industry, with proven success in setting industry benchmarks in sire evaluations and industry weather trials, and it would be lovely to see the legacy of this hard work honoured and carried forward.”
The property’s two breeding studs can support up to 11,500 sheep.
According to Lawd, the owners have made several upgrades to the property, including Flynn-design covered steel sheep yards installed in 2022, a purpose-built containment feeding facility, and fencing upgrades that feature a central laneway system for livestock movements.
Additional improvements include a four-stand shearing shed, machinery shed, multiple storage sheds, a hay shed, and 755 tonnes of grain storage capacity.
The experienced staff at the breeding studs are reportedly keen to stay on and work for a new owner.
The Murdochs also own the 25,000-hectare sheep-grazing property Cavan Station, near Canberra. Now worth tens of millions of dollars, it was purchased by family patriarch Rupert Murdoch for $196,000 in 1966.
Expressions of interest for the Springvale property close at noon on Thursday, 12 March. More information can be obtained by contacting Lawd.
