Meath farm exceeds its guide price by €400,000
Hectic bidding for grass and tillage holding which went for over €15,000/ac
A 157AC non-residential farm at Berrillstown near Dunshaughlin in Meath sold under the hammer last week, making €2.4m or €15,286/ ac, exceeding its guide by €400,000.
Currently in a mixture of grass and tillage, with 34ac in spring barley, 28ac in winter barley and 87ac of grass, the remainder is covered by the internal roadway and yard space. The farm has an array of high-quality sheds, a stone and gravel roadway and high-grade fencing in a combination of post and rail with V-mesh wire and hedgerow.
There is 560m of road frontage on to the R147, the old N3, and the farm backs on to the M3 motorway with access from a service road.
The substantial facilities include a double-round roof, six-column shed with lean-tos at either side covering almost 12,000sqft. These are currently used mainly for fodder and machinery storage.
To the rear of these sheds is a 12,000sqft finishing and feeding unit divided into 18 slatted pens on gang slats, with a central passage set over slurry tanks fitted with a central agitation point.
On the day, there were four serious contenders for the property when Raymond Potterton opened the auction at €1.5m. Bidding took off in increments of €100,000 and went all the way to €2m at that pace. Matters slowed somewhat and the bidding calmed to bids of €50,000.
At €2.3m, the place was put on the market and after four bids of €25,000, the hammer fell in favour of a businessman with farming interests from the midlands.
According to Stephen Barry of Raymond Potterton auctioneers, there was intense interest in the property prior to auction and a full auction room on the day.
TARA AUCTION
At the same auction, Potterton auctioneers withdrew a 62ac tillage farm at Rathfeigh near Tara in Meath. The holding was guided at €600,000 and after opening at €550,000 it was withdrawn at €560,000.
Located 8km from Ashbourne, 9km from Tara and 13km from Slane, the farm is in five fields and comes with 440m of frontage on to the N2 between Ashbourne and Slane. Negotiations with the highest bidder are on-going.
MEATH AND WESTMEATH PARCELS
Trim auctioneer Thomas Potterton sold two smaller pieces of ground in Meath and Westmeath during and after auction recently.
A 20ac farm field of gently undulating land at Johnstown, Delvin, was the first to be offered for sale.
Bordered by the River Deel and in one division, the place has generous road frontage and good cattle-handling facilities. According to Mr Potterton, it has the makings of a residential holding given the requisite planning permission.
On the day, two bidders showed cause when proceedings opened at €80,000 and the place was bid to €114,000 when the auctioneer consulted with the vendors. At that point, it was decided to put it on the market and it sold for €114,000 to a local business man with farming interests at that price.
Next to face the hammer was a 12ac parcel of ground at Moynalvey, Summerhill, Co Meath. Located 5km from Summerhill and 12km from Trim and Kilcock, the roadside land is laid out in three fields of permanent pasture and, according to the auctioneer, it too has the makings of an ideal residential holding subject to planning permission. This property opened at €80,000 and attracted two bidders.
It was bid to €85,000 before it was withdrawn, only to sell immediately afterwards to the highest bidder for a figure believed to be in the region of €9,000/ac. The new owner is a local.