Latest / Dollars In The Dirt / #007 - Gina Rinehart is Selling 3 Queensland Cattle Stations. Here's Your Chance.
Transcript
- 0:00You've seen the headlines. Gina Rinehart is selling off three
- 0:03major Queensland stations. And the first thought most farmers
- 0:06have is, well, that's out of my league. But what if
- 0:10that's the wrong way to think about it? What if I told you that moments like
- 0:13this, when the big players are selling, are the greatest opportunity
- 0:17for family-owned operations to expand? It's not about buying
- 0:20the whole station. It's about understanding the flow-on effect. It's
- 0:24about the smaller, high-quality blocks that come onto
- 0:27the market as a result. It's about the shift in land values and
- 0:31the new opportunities it creates for those who are prepared. In
- 0:35this episode, I'm not just going to talk about the sale. We're
- 0:38going to break down how we can get your finances acquisition ready.
- 0:42So when the right opportunity does come up, you're the one who's
- 0:45in the position to take it. Welcome to Dollars in the Dirt. I'm
- 0:49Brecon Curtis, and this is where we break down the finance side of farming so
- 0:52you can grow your operation, buy that next property, and build
- 0:56real wealth. Let's get into it. Let's be clear from the start.
- 1:00The average family farm is not going to go out and buy an aggregation like
- 1:04Rockybank. These are corporate grade assets, but
- 1:07that's not where the opportunity is. The real opportunity is
- 1:11in the ripple effect that a sale like this creates in the entire
- 1:15market. From a broker's perspective, I see three
- 1:18main ways this plays out. First, let's talk
- 1:22about market settlement. When a major player like Gina Reinhart sells,
- 1:26it sends a clear signal, but it's not a signal of weakness. It's
- 1:29a signal of portfolio rebalancing. These
- 1:33large corporations are constantly buying and selling assets to
- 1:36optimize their returns. What this does is create activity. It
- 1:40gets people talking. It brings in new buyers into the
- 1:43market and it puts a spotlight on the value of Queensland grazing land.
- 1:47This is free marketing for the entire industry. It reinforces
- 1:51the idea that agricultural land is a top tier investment. For
- 1:54a broker, this is a powerful tool. It
- 1:58helps us to justify higher valuations to the banks. which
- 2:01in turn increases your borrowing capacity. Second, and
- 2:05more importantly, there is a fragmentation effect. A large
- 2:08corporate buyer might purchase one of these stations, but
- 2:12they may not want all of it. They might identify parts of the properties that
- 2:15don't fit their specific operating model. These could
- 2:19be a smaller outlying block or blocks with different land types. These
- 2:22are non-core assets that are often sold relatively quickly after
- 2:26the main transaction. And these are opportunities that are
- 2:30perfectly sized for a family operator. These
- 2:33are the 5,000 acre blocks, 10,000 acre blocks that can
- 2:36be game changing addition to an existing farm, but they often
- 2:40sell quickly. and off market, and you have to be
- 2:43ready. I saw this happen a few years ago with another major corporate sale.
- 2:47A client of mine had been wanting to expand for years. He
- 2:50was acquisition ready, and he had his finance pre-approved. And
- 2:53when the corporate sold a 7,000 acre block on the edge of their new property,
- 2:58it never even hit the open market. Because our client was ready, he
- 3:01was able to make an offer, secure the property within a week. His
- 3:05neighbours, who were not prepared, didn't even know it
- 3:08was for sale. until it was too late. Third,
- 3:12there's the neighbour effect. The sale of a major station can
- 3:15trigger a chain reaction of local sales. The
- 3:19person who buys the big station needs to sell their existing property.
- 3:23The neighbour who misses out on the big station might decide to
- 3:26expand by buying a smaller block nearby. This creates a
- 3:30level of churn and opportunity in the local market. Suddenly,
- 3:34properties that have been locked up for the same family for generations might
- 3:38come onto the market. So the question is not, can I afford to
- 3:42buy Gina Reinhart's station? The question is, am
- 3:45I financially prepared to take advantage of the opportunities that
- 3:49this sale will create? This is what I call being acquisition
- 3:53ready, and it comes down to three key things. The first you
- 3:56need to have is absolute clarity on your numbers. You
- 3:59need to know your exact financial position today, not
- 4:03what it was last year. You need up-to-date financials and
- 4:07clear statement of assets and liabilities. and a
- 4:10professional business plan that we've talked about before. You
- 4:14need to have your paperwork in order. In a fast-moving market,
- 4:17the person who can get their finance approved the quickest wins, and
- 4:21that comes down to preparation. As a broker, I
- 4:25can't get you the best deal if your financials are a mess. You
- 4:29need to present a clean, professional case to the banks. Second,
- 4:33You need to have your borrowing capacity pre-assessed. You should know
- 4:37right now the maximum amount the bank is willing to lend you. This
- 4:40is not something you want to be figuring out when you're trying to negotiate a
- 4:43deal. You need to have a conversation with your broker and your
- 4:47bank before you even start looking. And this gives you the confidence
- 4:50to act decisively when the perfect block comes up for sale. You
- 4:55can make a clean, confident offer knowing that your finance is
- 4:58already sorted. It takes the emotion out of the decision and
- 5:01allows you to negotiate from a position of strength. If you haven't
- 5:05got a broker in your corner to help with this, there's a link in the show notes
- 5:08below that you should check out. I'll let you book a
- 5:11free call with me where we can talk about your numbers and
- 5:15I might see if I'm the right fit to help you with your expansion. Third,
- 5:19you need to have a strategic plan. Where do you want your business to
- 5:23be in five years? What kind of property you're looking for? And
- 5:26what's your maximum price? When you have a clear plan, you
- 5:30can filter out the noise and focus on the opportunities that are
- 5:33right for you. You're not reacting and you're proactively hunting
- 5:37for the assets that fit your long-term vision. This plan is also
- 5:40a critical document for the banks. It shows them that you're a serious operator
- 5:44and not just a dreamer. Let me be blunt. Farmers who are
- 5:48not prepared will miss out. They will see the opportunities come
- 5:51and go and they will complain that the corporates are buying everything up.
- 5:55But the strategic operators, the ones who are acquisition ready,
- 5:59will be quietly and confidently expanding their business. This
- 6:02is a rare moment in the market. A major portfolio is being reshuffled
- 6:06and it's creating movement, it's creating opportunity and it's a
- 6:09test. It's a test to see who has been doing the work and
- 6:12who has been getting their business in order. and who is
- 6:16ready to take the next step. Don't let this opportunity pass you
- 6:19by. Get your numbers in order, get your finance pre-approved and
- 6:23get your plan on paper. Be a farmer who is ready to
- 6:26act, not one who is left wondering what happened. As
- 6:31usual, if you've got any questions, feel free to reach out. I'll
- 6:34see you on the next episode. Thanks for tuning in to Dollars in the Dirt. If
- 6:37you've got value from today's episode, make sure to subscribe so
- 6:41you never miss the insights you need to grow your business. And if you're ready to stop
- 6:44being just another number to the banks, visit Season Finance via
- 6:48the link in the show notes. Remember to follow us on socials and catch