ONE OF Ireland’s highest profile farms, the 1,220-acre Begerin estate in Co Wexford, has been placed on the market again at nearly half the price sought 18-months ago.
The farm on the Wexford Sloblands is owned by the Lee Strand Co-op in Co Kerry, and was put on the market by tender in October 2007 and the expectation was it would make €12 million.
While there was some serious interest at the time from both farming and one tourism consortium, no offer was accepted when the tenders closed in December.
Yesterday the 1,220-acre farm with its four farmyards, two residences, grain stores and sheds which used to house 500 cows was offered for sale again in the Irish Farmers Journal.
However, now the estate, which has also three chalets near Curracloe beach, shooting rights and premia entitlements to the value of €126,000, is “there to be sold” at a guide figure of €5.75 million, less than half of the expected but not stated price of 18 months ago.
Working on the basis the owners were looking for €12 million when the property first went on the market, this would value the agricultural land at €9,800 and acre. The guide price now would value the acre at €4,700.
The property which is now being sold by private treaty, is one of the largest estates in the country, and the land is set out in large fields, the largest of which is 135 acres. Half the farm is under tillage and the rest is grazing land.
The main residence on the farm is a four-bedroomed home in need of upgrading, and the second house is a farm manager’s bungalow.
The property was purchased by Lee Strand Co-op in 1988 for about €1.5 million, and had one of the largest milk quotas attached to it which allowed the co-op to milk up to 900 cows there.
The milk quota was transferred to the co-op in Kerry to facilitate its own suppliers there when the co-op ceased producing milk there over 10 years ago.
The property is also fairly unique in Irish terms as it was reclaimed from the sea and has an extensive pumping system to prevent flooding. It also has an extensive road system.
It is bounded by a sea wall which was built about 200 years ago, and an annual fee is paid by local landowners to the Slob Commission to maintain the roads, dykes, sea wall and pumping system.