Australia-Fosters Brewing sell off vineyards.

AUSTRALIA-FOSTERS SELL OFF VINEYARDS.

PRODUCERS wishing to expand their holdings will have the opportunity to buy more than 2600 hectares of "well-watered and well-presented" property in South Australia and the Victorian Sunraysia by the end of May, with the Foster’s Group selling $243 million worth of vineyards across Australia and the United States.

The divestment plan comes as the company’s badly underperforming $4 billion wine business was the subject of a major review in February, which recommended the sale of the vineyards and pre-empted a write-down of at least $130m in the value of its wineries and labels.

Of the 31 Australian operations up for sale, 21 properties are situated in SA and just over the Victorian border at Lake Cullulleraine. They range in size from 12ha to 500ha.

AWB-owned Landmark is responsible for domestic marketing, while Colliers International will market the properties overseas.

Landmark’s SA real estate manager Simon McIntyre said inquiry was expected from all walks of life because of the diverse range of property sizes and locations, such as Clare, Eden Valley, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek, Padthaway, Wrattonbully and Coonawarra.