Sweet deal for Michael Hintze
Queensland’s sugar cane fields have attracted the investment of expatriate CQS Management hedge fund founder Michael Hintze. His acquisitive personal pension fund has spent about $6.8 million on 300 hectares near Ayr in far north Queensland.
The Townsville district investment is understood to be the first outside of NSW for the Michael Hintze Pension Fund, which is managed for London-based Hintze by Growth Farms Australia.
The purchases were negotiated by Ferry’s Property, according to the Australian Financial Review.
“MHPF is very interested in diversifying its agricultural interests,” Hintze says.
“To that end, sugar seemed a sensible investment.”
The best use of the property at the moment is sugar, but Growth Farms is prepared to shift to other crops if sugar prices change.
Recent nearby cane field sales included a 98-hectare lot with Burdekin River frontage that sold for $1.55 million, which was initially listed for sale in 2009 at $1.85 million. It was bought by Sucrogen subsidiary the Haughton Sugar Company. Sucrogen is now part the Singapore-based Wilmar International, following the 2010 sale of CSR Ltd's sugar division.
Sucrogen has now taken its holdings to about 2500 hectares of farm land. It also controls two harvesting groups, each harvesting about 150,000 tonnes of cane annually.
Queensland Department of Natural Resources records show $14.32 million changed hands in the past seven sales of cane properties, representing 969 hectares from Port Douglas south to Sarina, over the past few months.
Sucrogen bought the priciest property which was a 325-hectare parcel at Upper Haughton for $5.35 million.
It last sold for $5 million in 2007.