Sundrop Farms is an award-winning, sustainable horticulture operator, capable of producing 17,000 tonne of truss and baby plum tomatoes from four glasshouses, each covering five hectares.
Australi’s Sundrop Farms has been acquired by Centuria Agriculture Fund (CAF). The property assets have been acquired for $70 million from the Morrison & Co Growth Infrastructure Fund.
Sundrop Farms is an award-winning, sustainable horticulture operator, capable of producing 17,000 tonne of truss and baby plum tomatoes from four glasshouses, each covering five hectares. It has adopted innovative technologies that integrate solar power, freshwater production, electricity generation and hydroponics to deliver a meaningful reduction in water and fossil fuel use.
David McKinnon, Investment Director at Morrison & Co, said, “We acquired the business in 2019 recognising its potential to deliver a step-change in the way food is produced.”
The business will be sold on behalf of the Morrison & Co Growth Infrastructure Fund (MGIF), which targets gross returns of 13-15 per cent per annum through investing in ‘ideas that matter’ backed by long-term secular trends such as water scarcity and decarbonisation. The investment has delivered excellent returns that comfortably exceeded these targets.
Andrew Tout, Centuria’s Head of Agriculture, said, “This high-quality glasshouse facility was constructed in 2016, incorporating modern renewable energy, heating and irrigation sources, which creates highly sustainable, premium fresh produce. These are strong fundamentals that underpin a well performing agriculture real estate investment.”
