GEORGE NEWS - One of the George district's top exporting farms, Blue Mountain Berries in the Sinksabrug area, has come onto the market via a sealed bid process after going into business rescue.
The process is being handled by Galetti Corporate Real Estate that was also the agent in the successful sale last year of the 437-hectare Destiny Africa land near the Garden Route Mall.
Blue Mountain Berries is fully operational. It predominantly supplies export markets in Europe, Russia, the UK, Middle East and Southeast Asia year-round with fresh and frozen berries.
They also supply Pick n Pay, Checkers and Woolworths. The 262,11-hectare farm is equipped with farmhouses, equipment, staff accommodation, a community centre, fully operational cold rooms and packing and storage facilities, as well as moveable assets.
Galetti director Wesley Cowan said the farm also offers off-grid resilience through multiple solar systems, diesel generators and four large dams, with full water rights in place.
According to Danie van Jaarsveld, business rescue practitioner who is handling the business rescue process, the owners of Blue Mountain Berries have distinguished themselves in establishing and running an iconic farm in the region, but soon after they undertook extensive expansions recently, they ran into cash flow shortage.
"At the time of the expansions, product prices went through a downward trend. Eventually, the owners decided to sell and that business rescue is a suitable process to market the assets. They have their roots here and have been working extremely hard their whole lives, but feel that it is a good time to move on to new ventures," he said.
"We are advertising worldwide and are excited about the interest in the property. It is really a remarkable farm with world standard packing facilities from where products can be moved to any market or shop in the world. They have now also made major investments into avocados, strawberries and various vegetable crops, all lines that the world is excited about. The avocados are harvested in a different time slot in the year than other parts in the country. This could enable existing avocado suppliers to lengthen their production season should they invest here."
Cowan said the farm has an excellent strategic location near the airport and at the crossroads of three major national roadways, the N2, N9 (R62) and N12. This enables rapid transportation of goods to other parts of South Africa, which is essential in preserving the integrity of the logistical cold chain for fresh and frozen produce.
He said they are anticipating a high volume of competitive sealed bids. The deadline for sealed bid submissions is 30 November.
Eden Meander sale not through yet
George Herald recently reported on another major property deal in George - the Sasol Pension Fund's R521 million purchase of Eden Meander Lifestyle Centre from Accelerate Pension Fund. Accelerate CEO Leon Louw this week said that the transfer process has not yet been finalised. "It should take about another three months before we can confirm if the transaction is through."
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