For Sale by Private Negotiation

Outstanding opportunity to acquire a 225 acre (approx.) rural freehold within 1.5 hours of Melbourne. Over AUD$4M invested to date. The vineyard operation is run by experienced staff, the grapes are all forward sold under long term contracts and industry conditions are rapidly improving.

Forecast profits are strong and there is an excellent opportunity to neutrally gear the investment while you consider the following options (STCA);

Future redevelopment and subdivision of the land (STCA) to support primary and recreational housing for Melbourne's rapidly expanding population (see link to article below)
Develop a luxury home amongst the vines
Plant additional income producing crops (eg native grasses for seed, fruit, olives etc)
Develop a wine brand
Develop a food & accommodation business
Develop a tourism business …

The combined holding of 225 acres (approx.) incorporates:

150 acres (approx.) of planted vineyard – profitable and commercial scale in one of Australia's fastest growing wine regions
75 acres (approx.) of vacant land

Vineyard Profits are Growing & Sustainable:

Vineyard profits (EBITD) are forecast at $400k (approx.) and growing over the next few years.

The growing profitability of the vineyard operation is underpinned by:

The long term forward contract for sale of all the grapes
Modern, efficient and well maintained Plant & Equipment including late model tractors, high capacity spray applicators, pre-pruning & wire lifting equipment and a harvester. All of these significantly reduce annual labour costs
The refinement of operational procedures
Maturing vines that are now producing good yields
Re-weighting of the grape plantings to local climatic conditions and market demands
The return from capital investment in automation
The stability of staff

The vineyard is now run at near industry-leading efficiency levels. Production output is forecast at the equivalent of 50,000 cases after 2010.

Investment Features

More than $4m invested to date
All grapes forward sold under long term contract to organisations including Domaine Chandon and Foster's
Full managed operation with skilled management & staff
Low cost operating structure – there is a fully automatic electronic watering & feeding system to the 150 acres (approx.), which feature long wide rows and good headlands for machine operation
Self-sufficient water infrastructure – 110ML dam, 2 x feeder dams, and 50ML renewable bore (currently @ 60% capacity)
Freehold of 225 acres (approx.) is on three titles (zoned: Rural)
Freehold has 'land banking' potential (STCA) with future capital growth potential from rezoning to accomodate Melbourne's rapidly growing need for primary and recreational lousing - check the following link for background http://www.theage.com.au/national/land-and-tax-grab-in-melbourne-growth-plan-20090617-chrf.html