The site housing an internationally-celebrated Hawke’s Bay cidery and an export-brand nectarine orchard is set to bear fruit for new owners.

The more than 10-hectare freehold property now for sale in Fernhill is fully leased to award-winning New Zealand cider producer Zeffer Brewing and export grower X Fruit. It sits beside State Highway 50 in the fruit-growing heartland between Napier and Hastings which is sought after for its fertile soils and strategic transport links.

The Korokipo Road property generates a total net rental return of $123,364 plus outgoings and GST per annum, with built in rental growth.

Founded in 2008, Zeffer’s early success drove a move from its original home in Matakana to its current base in the apple-growing bastion of Hawke’s Bay. The company’s all-natural craft ciders are now sold in major New Zealand supermarkets, online, and around the world.

The business has garnered numerous awards, culminating in a prestigious World's Best Cider title in 2017, and it is this country’s first cidery to achieve zero-carbon status.

Zeffer occupies the Fernhill site on a current lease that runs through to 2028 with two further five-year rights of renewal. This generates an annual net rent of $87,130 plus outgoings and GST, with CPI adjustments 2.5 years after each lease renewal and market rent reviews at renewal.

Hastings-based grower X Fruit produces premium fruits for local and export markets – including apples, nectarines, peaches, apricots, plums, cherries and pears. Founded in 2010, the business has around 20 orchards with 220 hectares in the Hastings area.

The current lease over X Fruit’s Korokipo Road orchard runs through to 2027, returning a net rent of $36,234 plus outgoings and GST per annum, with built-in CPI adjustments every three years.

The freehold land and buildings at 1747 Korokipo Road, Fernhill, Hastings, are being offered for sale by negotiation through Kerry Geange, Jodie Woodfield and Tim Wynne-Lewis of Bayleys Real Estate.

“This is an exciting chance to invest in New Zealand’s fruit bowl, combining the best of Hawke’s Bay – fertile land, views, upgraded vendor plant and cider,” Geange said.

“New owners can reap the benefits of productive land ownership with a passive income from A-grade tenants.

“Primary tenant Zeffer Brewing continues to grow globally and has co-invested significantly in its production, packing and warehousing onsite. This investment should provide buyers with certainty as to its confidence in the location and buildings. Zeffer’s recent capital investment in a new 1,000-square-metre (approximately) warehouse, currently tenant-owned, provides additional investment opportunity for the buyer.

“There are ongoing add-value opportunities for a new owner to work with the tenants to add further infrastructure and increase income. For those seduced by the rural setting, there’s also the chance to build a dream home on the land for a heady blend of lifestyle, ownership and income,” said Geange.

Woodfield said buildings at the site, including the new warehouse, a Mediterranean-style cidery building, plus office and staff amenities, bathroom facilities and storage, offered a total floor area of some 1,860 square metres.

These are underpinned by some 10.9 hectares of productive land.

“A front orchard of some 0.7 hectares is planted in a mix of several English and French varieties of cider apples, providing the raw product for Zeffer’s award-winning ciders. Around 80 percent were planted in 2017, and the rest in 2019.

“An approximately 8-hectare nectarine orchard behind the cidery, with around 9,000 trees in several varieties planted in 2017, is leased to X Fruit,” Woodfield said.

The property sits within the Plains Production zone under the Hastings District Plan, permitting an array of commercial uses. Consents are in place to secure existing use rights for the tenant – including food processing and hospitality – under new ownership.

Wynne-Lewis said the location on the flanks of the productive Ngaruroro River plains was highly coveted fruit-growing country.

“Positioned strategically between the Bay’s key centres of Napier and Hastings, this property sits in the heart of a region known nationally and internationally for its premium horticultural production including apples, stone fruit, and vegetables.

“Being on State Highway 50, with convenient links north and south via State Highway 2, it’s perfectly positioned for simple access to and from locations across Hawke’s Bay, including Napier Port,” Wynne-Lewis said.

Click here for more information on the listing.