• Colliers takes HTW’s Stephen Cameron
• NT’s Olivia Thompson joins LAWD
• New CQ agency opens in Emerald
• Darwin’s Andrew Gray celebrates 40 years

 

Colliers takes HTW’s Stephen Cameron

After losing some of its valuations team to CBRE Agribusiness last year, Colliers has poached well known rural valuer Stephen Cameron as national director of agribusiness valuation and advisory services in Queensland.

For the past 21 years, Mr Cameron has managed rural valuations at Herron Todd White in Toowoomba, servicing south and western Queensland and northern New South Wales.

He brings a wealth of knowledge to Colliers, having been in the valuation industry since 2000 covering the Darling Downs, Brisbane Valley, South Burnett, Roma and central and western Queensland.

Mr Cameron also has extensive rural valuations experience in broadacre farming, intensive irrigation, pastoral holdings, orchards, intensive livestock (cattle and pigs), horticulture, viticulture, sheep and cattle grazing properties.

He will be charged with lifting Colliers’ valuation presence in Queensland and New South Wales, as well as rebuilding the team.

NT’s Olivia Thompson joins LAWD

In December last year, Northern Territory property specialist Olivia Thompson joined LAWD after almost four years with Nutrien Harcourts Katherine, where she served the NT and northern Australia.

Ms Thompson brings more than 20 years’ experience in property sales to her role as a director of transactions.

Raised on cattle stations across the NT, she completed primary school through School of the Air providing a grassroots experience of station life in regions such as Central Australia, the Top End and the Kimberley.

Olivia is the daughter of irrigation expert John Thompson, widely known as “The Waterman.”

She has been involved in more than 500 property sales. Her two most notable transactions were Neutral Junction and Limbunya and Maryfield Stations which sold last year for a combined $200m.

• In August 2022, the Bunderra Cattle Co, owned by Queensland’s Pickersgill family, paid $30m for Neutral Junction Station – the 460,900ha turn-key beef breeding and farming opportunity in Central Australia. The price tag included 7000 head of Droughtmaster-Cross, Ultra Blacks and Santa Gertrudis cattle, including 4158 breeders and around 120 bulls.
• In September – the 147,300ha Maryfield on the Barkly Tableland and 521,883ha Limbunya in the Victoria River District sold for $175m WIWO including around 50,000 head of Brahman cattle. The $103.4m land component ($38.2m for Maryfield and $65.2m for Limbuyna) was secured by funds manager Sam Mitchell from Sydney-based Wealthcheck, while the cattle ($71.6m) were purchased by Brisbane-based AAM.

New CQ agency opens in Emerald

Seventy-four year old Emerald rural property specialist Terry Ray said retirement didn’t cross his mind when he joined forces with co-workers Matt Beard and Bryton Virgo to form independent agency business RBV (Ray, Beard & Virgo) recently.

The three identities had been working at Nutrien Harcourts before deciding to go out on their own.

Currently in his 55th year of continually working in the livestock and rural property sales agency business, Terry has spent most of his working life in Emerald, covering the Central Highlands district. However, he has also spent time in the Townsville, Roma, Hughenden and Warwick districts.

He said it was never too late to start a new venture.

“I love the job and have built a lot of relationships here over the years. I believe most producers tend to favour a local independent operator and we have certainly been pleasantly surprised by the depth of local support.”

Matt Beard said he was gifted the opportunity to work with Terry Ray at Landmark Emerald after Terry’s partner Chaffey Backhouse retired. Prior to that, he worked at Wesfarmers Landmark in Roma, Injune, Katherine, Longreach and Clermont.

After 21 years at Nutrien Harcourts, Mr Beard said it was time to branch out.

“We wanted to make our own decisions, run the business as we see fit and maintain that personal touch with our clients.”

“The three of us have skin in the game and are willing to work hard. We want to maintain a real presence in Central Queensland and the Central Highlands marketing livestock, rural property and machinery sales,” Mr Beard said.

The third wheel, Bryton Virgo started out in the livestock industry early in life. He was just 12 years of age when he started working with his grandfather, well-known agent Des Archer, at the Chinchilla Saleyards. In 2011, he started full-time as an agent, working in Roma before moving to Landmark Emerald.

Darwin’s Andrew Gray celebrates 40 years

A shout out to Darwin-based rural property real estate and agribusiness investment specialist Andrew Gray who is entering his 40th year servicing the Northern Territory and the Kimberley regions.

Mr Gray recently established AG Land & Livestock after having previously worked for Elders Katherine and Wesfarmers Darwin. In 2007 he founded Territory Rural in partnership with Ruralco, which later became Landmark.

Mr Gray said he has been blown away by the level of support since venturing out on his own.

“I love what I do, and I love the pastoral industry in the Northern Territory. You have to because it is a big job with lots of miles and dry gullies which can be very expensive.”

In the 1980s stock and station agents were selling pastoral stations, with none of the specialist property agencies active in the NT. When Andrew Gray was charged with selling Kalala, Murranji and Buchanan Stations for Allan Myers in 2005, he became known as a ‘rural property specialist.’

He has witnessed firsthand the maturing of the NT property market.

“In my early days, livestock was valued, not land. A property running 10,000 cattle at $300 a head was automatically listed for $3 million with land and fixed improvements thrown in. In later years, beast area values and carrying capacities were established.”

Mr Gray said it was common practice for buyers to muster cleanskins to pay for a property.

“Many prominent producers established themselves in the NT by using their harvesting skills to build their businesses. The successful ones bit off a fair bit and chewed very hard.”

Mr Gray has been involved in some of the NT’s biggest transactions including Blackbull, Murranji, Larrizona, Flying Fox, Kalala and Inverway Stations – just to name a few.