Radicle extends Australian investment
UK fund manager Radicle has continued to boost its investment in Australian agribusiness buying a 15 per cent stake in a wheat project.
Radicle has bought 1,500 units in the 2008 Grain Co-production project for $6.6 million.
The project is managed by Australian Agricultural Contracts (AAC) and is made up of 25,000 hectares in Western and South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.
The first planting was in 2007 and investors should see their first returns this year when the wheat and barley is harvested.
The manager is predicting a 15 per cent return for the 2008 and 2009 crops with the net proceeds of the three-year project being paid in 2010.
Radicle has also been paid $900,000 by AAC for sourcing buyers for the grain crops. The UK manager is expecting to receive about 60,000 tonnes of grain a year from the investment.
Radicle chief executive Tim Bennett said the returns on the projects and global demand for grain made it an attractive investment for the UK manager.
“Wheat is in heavy demand around the world and this makes this project an exciting and attractive acquisition,” he said.
“We expect the project to be producing a cash flow for the group in the current financial year.”
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