A German investment group has paid top dollar for Pukeokahu, a hill country sheep and beef station east of Taihape.
The overseas buyers paid $8,672,300 for the 991.7232 hectare station.
The two groups of overseas investment fund buyers are NMP Farm Investment and Oceania Agrar Investitions which comprise about 1000 small investors in Germany.
During the past few years the investment fund managed by the Aquila Group in Bremen, Germany, has bought several New Zealand dairy farms and put local people in to manage them.
MyFarm, a Feilding-based rural property team, is managing the Pukeokahu station for the investors.
Communications manager Sarah McVerry said the Aquila Group was an independent company that specialises in asset management and investment services for institutional and private investors globally.
"Aquila organised this investment into NZ sheep farming, its first, because of its success with NZ dairy farm investment. They recognise that NZ leads the world in grass-based protein production," Ms McVerry said.
She said Pukeokahu ticked all the boxes for its first sheep and beef station.
"It has the scale, climate and infrastructure to deliver production growth to its new owners."
It also had great potential global demand growth for sheepmeat shifting away from traditional European markets towards Asian and Muslim nations.
She said the investors, through MyFarm, had formed strong relationships with NZ meat processing companies.
"They are excited about the opportunities for providing protein into these global niche markets," Ms McVerry said.
The new owners were planning a 17 per cent increase in production by a simple system of a few stock classes.
"The main stock will be breeding ewes and finishing lambs as well as a small beef cow herd," Ms McVerry said.
"This means there would be a more intensively farmed property, focused on lamb production with improved cashflow and profitability and with potential for future capital value growth."
The new owners intended spending about $500,000 on a new Pukeokahu station sold overseas water supply system, re-fencing, upgrading races and lanes and capital fertiliser.
"The property will be managed along similar lines to neighbouring MyFarm-managed syndicate Kaiangaroa, owned by NZ investors with the use of hill country cropping to increase winter stocking rates and use of latest technology and best practice to enable year-round lamb supply," she said.
"They are also working closely with one of NZ's major meat exporters to ensure better alignment between on-farm, processing and the market on a three-year supply contract."
Ms McVerry said the owners were also keen to set up an Aquila Academy which would help with the training of farm staff and donate a minimum of $1500 a year to the AG in schools programme. Taihape Bayleys agent Pete Stratton brokered the sale.