Australian agriculture manager Go Farm is seeking to raise A$300m (€276m) for its latest fund.
The Responsible Agriculture Fund, which is backed by Qantas Super in a A$200m investment, is expected to have a A$600m firepower with the use of leverage to acquire agricultural assets which will deliver “real” returns and impact.
The fund’s first seed asset is a water-rich development project, and the manager is continuing to assess a A$700m transaction pipeline for further acquisitions.
Go Farm, which has more than A$1.1bn in assets under management, said the new fund would pursue a gross asset level internal rate of return of 15-19%.
Go Farm founder and managing director, Liam Lenaghan, said: ” The feedback we’ve had from investors is that they’d like fund exposure where they can get four or five of our best ideas in one investment, giving them geographical spread across a number of climate zones, water sources and crop types. This is what the Responsible Agriculture Fund will deliver.”
LAWD senior director, Danny Thomas, an agribusiness transaction advisor, said Australian agriculture is primed for investment, with best-in-class research, technology and farming practices producing high-quality, ethically produced food for global markets.
However, said Thomas farm managers and operators also need to know what they’re doing. “Good farming operators draw on specialist knowledge and expertise to identify assets with great potential for transformation to highest and best use, investing in technologies, infrastructure and commodities that will drive highest value returns.”
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