BY KARREN VERGARA  |  MONDAY, 12 JUL 2021   12:23PM

The Packhorse Pastoral Company has secured its first property located in Queensland after raising $62.5 million.

The agricultural asset manager acquired Stuart’s Creek, an 8360-hectare parcel of land located 45 kilometres north-west of Roma, Queensland.

The acquisition is part of its plans to invest $1.5 billion in rural Australia over the next five years.

Packhorse Pastoral chair Tim Samway said: “Our mission to build the greatest land custodian, land restoration and beef supply chain business in the world is supported by our new shareholders in the company.”

“Our investors are acutely aware of the financial opportunities that come with the increasing demand for organisations to become carbon neutral. Packhorse is currently deploying sizeable programs to generate carbon credits which have the potential to provide long-term upside for our investors.”

In the short term, the firm wants to raise as much as $300 million, as it targets high-net-worth investors.

“We know the expected financial returns generated by our business model are solid, but it’s the additional value of our environmental impact and the potential for carbon sequestration that has captured the attention of investors,” Samway said.

Packhorse is currently looking at potential acquisitions between Coonamble in New South Wales and Taroom in Queensland ahead of the next round of funding in September.

In assessing pastures, the firm calculates a baseline level of soil organic carbon and then plants trees, grasses and cultures.

Samway said introducing specific flora combined with higher livestock grazing density assists the regenerative process and in turn improves the value of the land through an increase in the carrying capacity of each property.