CONSOLIDATED Pastoral Company has made its third major property purchase this year, paying $47.4 million for the Northern Territory’s Vermelha Station.

Located in the Sturt Plateau region, adjacent to the township of Larrimah and 180km south-east of Katherine, the 204,000ha perpetual pastoral lease was offered to the market two years ago by its Vietnamese owners.

The walk-in, walk-out deal includes around 15,000 head of cattle, a 2956ML water licence and a 3660ha clearing permit.

CPC chief executive Troy Setter said Vermelha was attractive for two key reasons.

“As weaning rates improved, CPC needed to increase the hectares of growing and backgrounding country, and it has been doing that through purchasing and agistment.”

“The purchase of Vermelha will allow the company to exit some of the short-term agistment properties it has been using,” he explained.

Mr Setter said the second attraction is Vermelha’s development potential.

“CPC plans to further develop the grazing country to run more cattle and make better use of the station’s currently unused water licence.”

“There is already one centre pivot on the property, with further irrigation development expected to get underway between now and the end of next year,” Mr Setter said.

Mr Setter said Vermelha is a couple of hours north of CPC’s Newcastle Waters but receives around 200mm more rainfall and has a longer, more reliable wet season, making it well suited to growing and backgrounding cattle.

Despite holding water licences on some other properties, Mr Setter said CPC currently has no irrigation in operation elsewhere in its portfolio.

Vermelha Station was purchased by An Vien Pastoral Holding and Agriculture in 2016, in what was regarded as the first major Vietnamese investment in the northern Australian beef industry.

During its 10-year ownership, the company upgraded existing infrastructure, improved water supply across the 28 paddocks and installed a satellite monitoring system, helping lift carrying capacity from 10,000 to 15,000 head.

The country is a mix of red and black soils, woodlands and savannah in a region with average annual rainfall of 860mm.

Vermelha has 23 bores, including a high-capacity irrigation bore capable of pumping 60 litres per second. It supports a 45ha centre pivot irrigator and an additional 60ha of cleared land, offering scope for crop production or further expansion of the irrigated area.

The station also a homestead complex, 680km of fencing, six steel yards and other cattle-handling infrastructure.

Darwin Property Group agent Judy Truong handled the sale.

CPC’s 2026 purchases

In May, Arubiddy Station on Western Australia’s Nullarbor Plain was placed under contract to CPC, creating what is expected to become the world’s largest contiguous sheep operation.

The 314,494ha exclusion-fenced property is located on the Eyre Highway, 30km north of the Cocklebiddy Roadhouse, 300km from the South Australian border and 620km from Esperance and Kalgoorlie.

The walk-in, walk-out sale included around 15,000 Merino sheep, with final numbers to be determined.

Arubiddy sits between CPC’s 1,046,323ha Rawlinna to the west, purchased last year for around $20m, and the 711,638ha Madura Plains Station to the east.

In January this year, CPC announced it had acquired Madura Plains on a going-concern, walk-in, walk-out basis including the sheep flock and goat herd. While no price guide was disclosed, it is understood to have transacted for around $35 million.

CPC properties

According to its website, CPC owns and manages 11 station aggregations spanning more than six million hectares across Australia, alongside two feedlots in Indonesia.

Its holdings include:

• 7010ha Allawah (Qld/NT region)
• 1,054,700ha Beetaloo Aggregation (NT)
• 178,800ha Bunda and 230,400ha Kirkimbie (NT/WA border)
• 475,745ha Carlton Hill (WA)
• 445,400ha Dungowan (NT)
• 246,057ha Isis Downs (Qld)
• 17,638ha Jimarndy (Qld)
• 711,638ha Madura Plains Station (WA)
• 1,033,101ha Newcastle Waters (NT)
• 1,046,323ha Rawlinna (WA – Australia’s largest sheep station)
• 203,900ha Vermelha Station (NT)
• Tandyidgee and Powell Creek (noted in water/irrigation holdings)

The number of CPC properties will rise to 12 once the purchase of the 314,494ha Arubiddy Station is completed.