Laguna Bay making oysters its world
ONE of Australia’s top five rural fund managers, the $1bn Laguna Bay Pastoral Company, has taken a strategic shareholding in the nation’s largest organic Pacific oysters producers to bankroll its expansion into supermarkets.
Angel Seafood, which is backed by billionaire investor Alex Waislitz’s Thorney Opportunities Group, has plans to double its oyster production from its leases off South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula to two million oysters annually over the next three years after pivoting its strategy during the pandemic from the restaurant to retail trade.
Angel is the biggest supplier of oysters from the Coffin Bay region and provides more than 10 per cent of Australia’s Pacific oysters. It said it was the nation’s biggest sustainable and organic certified Pacific oyster grower.
Laguna Bay, which manages a portfolio of agricultural and agribusiness sector assets and has investment mandates with pension and other institutional investors, has taken an 11 per cent stake in the listed Angel Seafood from Swiss investment group Bona fide Wealth Management.
Laguna Bay is run by Tim McGavin, whose brother, Robert McGavin, runs the country’s largest olive grower, Boundary Bend — owner of the Cobram Estate olive oil brand — which is reportedly gearing up for a $500m sharemarket listing.
Angel Seafood chief executive Zac Halman, who owns 16 per cent of the company, said the support of Laguna Bay as a new investor would help bolster production and marketing.
“With their marketing knowledge and their ability to scale businesses, they will have an enormous influence on contributing to our future growth,” he said.
“Going into stage two of our growth strategy (going from producing one million oysters to two million oysters a year) those guys backing us with their synergies will be essential. With their beef, dairy and relationships with Cobram Estate, the wineries and retailers, there are many marketing opportunities they can help us with.
“They’re also long-term investors, which will make them great partners.”
Mr Waislitz, whose listed Thorney Opportunities Group has 14 per cent of Angel after buying into the company before its IPO in February 2018, said Australian agriculture and aquaculture could be difficult sectors.
“But Angel Seafood seems to be getting things right, whether it be achieving scale, introducing innovation, maintaining quality or very successfully pivoting from restaurant and export sales to domestic retail during COVID-19,’’ he said.
“If they can continue along these lines while at the same time stepping up their promotions I think they have a big future ahead.”
Angel shares last traded at 14c, below their 20c float issue price.