Final Straw for Hay Maker on the Cards

Article by: Hari Yellina

The defunct SP Hay Group’s land and equipment are up for sale. Apart from the extremely large amount of money, the properties for sale span 40.5 hectares across three sites in Western Australia and South Australia. Elders Real Estate has been hired to handle the company’s sales. Last year, the company went into receivership, owing creditors $14 million. Currently, the Thomas Plain “Paskeville” land in South Australia is for sale. It is a large-scale hay processing and storage plant located near Yorke Peninsula. Hay teasing, mixing, pressing, and unitising equipment are all available at the plant. In fact, the big hay warehouse of 5760 square metres was built around 2010.

On-site, there is “extensive water infrastructure” for fire suppression in the enormous machinery shed. In 2009, the plant was destroyed by a massive fire that cost millions of dollars. The entire boundary is surrounded by perimeter fencing, with a central entry and exit point. It also has hard stand spaces, an office, a weighbridge, site drainage routes, and a water collection system in place. The Brookton location in Western Australia also houses a large-scale hay storage and processing facility. This complex was built around the year 2000, primarily to deliver high-quality hay harvested throughout Western Australia to the export hay market. It is just north of Brookton and about 150km from Perth. The 26.1529 hectare site consists of two allotments with improvements concentrated on Lot 168 and with surplus room for further expansion on Lot 22.

At its Brookton and Paskeville locations, it has automated Hunterwood press lines with operating systems. According to the agents, there is an opportunity to build infrastructure at important locations and offer products and services related to plant protein value addition. SP Hay is available for purchase through an expression of interest period that ends on March 31.

For additional information, call Elders’ Adam Chilcott at 0447 710484.