Dairying consortium in receivership, farms to be sold as going concern

The liabilities of the farming consortium are yet to be established by the reciever.

The Otago and Taupo farms of a dairying consortium put into receivership are being marketed as going concerns, says receiver Andrew Grenfell of McGrathNicol.

Three dairy farms, one in Taupo and two in North Otago, are involved in the receivership of Waitonui Milltrust Agricultural Holdings General Partner, Waitonui Milltrust Agricultural Holdings Partnership, WMAH Farm Management General Partner and Waitonui Milltrust Agricultural Holdings Farm Management Partnership.

The companies were put into receivership by BNZ.

Grenfell said there were also four third party properties in North Otago used for drystock. They were under lease or grazing agreements with another entity in the group, which was not in receivership.

The two Otago farms carry 2570 dairy cattle, and there are 866 on the Taupo property, he said.

The liabilities of the companies were still being worked through. The receivership was “complex”, Grenfell agreed.

Milltrust, a UK investment manager, acquired nearly 30 per cent of Waitonui Milltrust Agricultural Agricultural Holdings (WMAH) in 2019. The move consolidated a number of investments already made which Milltrust at the time said culminated in the establishment of a large-scale New Zealand integrated dairy and beef farming enterprise. Milltrust said the venture had received the support of the UK local authority pension fund assets managed by Milltrust and its affiliate, Milltrust Agricultural Investments.

In 2019 Milltrust said WMAH had total assets of more than $125 million. It said it owned and managed a portfolio covering a total of 3500ha, milking 10,000 cows and producing more than four million kilograms of milk solids a year. It claimed to be one of dairy exporter Fonterra’s biggest suppliers.

In 2021 Milltrust Agriculture Investments was acquired by UK-based Future Planet Capital.

Future Planet, today a 24.9 per cent shareholder of in-receivership Waitonui Farm Management and Waitonui Milltrust Agriculture Holdings General Partner, has been approached for comment.

The largest single shareholder of both entities with 27.99 per cent of each, is Gerard (Ged) Donald of Hamilton. He has been approached for comment.

Other shareholders in the two entities are Elderslie Holdings with 23.51 per cent in each, and Sunset Holdings with 16.5 per cent of each. Another party called Waitonui Holdings LP has a 7 per cent share in each.

Andrea Fox joined the Herald as a senior business journalist in 2018 and specialises in writing about the dairy industry, agribusiness, exporting and the logistics sector and supply chains.