SFM managed Limestone Estate grows with New Forests completing purchase of hardwood plantation estate

New Forests today confirmed the acquisition of a 7,000 hectare blue gum estate which will be managed as part of the Limestone Estate. SFM manage the 28,000 hectare Limestone Estate on behalf of New Forests in the Green Triangle. See media release below;

SYDNEY, 23 October 2014 – New Forests today announced the acquisition of a 7,000-hectare blue gum plantation estate, which will be managed as part of Limestone Plantations, a hardwood estate previously acquired by New Forests’ Australia New Zealand Forest Fund 2 (“ANZFF2”). The acquisition includes 28 properties with approximately 5,500 hectares of net planted area located across south-western Victoria.

ANZFF2 closed in March of this year with more than AU$700 million of capital from institutional clients. Since then New Forests has completed three Australian and three New Zealand transactions on behalf of the ANZFF2 investment fund. This includes the acquisition of the original 21,000 hectare Limestone Plantations in March and purchase of a 175,000-hectare Tasmanian forestry estate in September of this year.

“These are attractive, high-productivity forestry properties,” said New Forests’ CEO David Brand. “The Green Triangle is a premier forestry region, with low operating costs, proximity to processing and ports, and excellent forestry management capacity.”

The combined estate of Limestone Plantations now comprises 28,000 hectares and offers high-quality forestry land with a mix of leased and unleased properties. As part of the company’s Social and Environmental Policy, New Forests will seek to certify the forests with the Forest Stewardship Council (“FSC”) as third-party verification of the sustainable environmental, social, and economic management of the plantation.