Australia's Laguna Bay reaches $208m first close on agri fund

Laguna is an investor in the fund, which is understood to be targeting a final close of A$1 billion by May 2017. It will target low-risk, high-quality agricultural assets in Australia and New Zealand. According to a statement, this mandate will be diversified by sector, location and water sources across a mix of manager-operated, joint venture and sale-leaseback assets.

"The fund's design reflects the desire of many investors to maintain a perpetual exposure to real assets like agriculture, whilst providing periodic review periods that provide for liquidity," said Tim Biggs, co-founder and chair of the Laguna investment committee. "With the right structure, institutional investors are attracted to agriculture as an asset class that generates a cash yield and offers a potential inflation."

Founded in 2010, Laguna focuses on unlocking unrealized farmland value and claims about A$1 billion of assets under management. The firm aims to generate stable and growing income yield while preserving capital and targeting significant long-term capital appreciation.

Australian agribusiness investment has attracted increased attention from institutional investors on the back of rising Asian demand for premium foods. This development has been evidenced recently by a wave of foreign investment in the country's beef sector.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Fundraising
• Industrials
• Australia
• Agriculture