Challenge:
A long-established family had operated a wholesale nursery business for many years. The decision had been made to divest of the properties in the portfolio, some of which had been actively used as the nursery and some that was forested land intended for future expansion. The nursery property was located within the Agricultural Land Reserve and was surrounded by estate residential lots. It also contained multiple land titles. The other property was in a future growth area that was years away from any economic development. The challenge was to identify and approach target markets that that were distinct while still marketing as a portfolio. Neither of these properties had any foreseeable development potential but both carried values that reflected the need for economic return.
Action:
- Detailed valuations were executed on the properties in the offering – individual titles and as a package and were presented to the Board representing the ownership. The owners wanted to ensure that the market was fully canvassed and that any ultimate decision to sell was based on market-based information and feedback.
- Prepared, detailed information packages that outlined the immediate and long-term utility of the land.
- Implemented a comprehensive and far-reaching marketing campaign that focused on local and regional developers and agricultural prospects, including all of the immediate neighbours.
Result:
The result of our process was that we generated a full price offer on the future development property from the immediate neighbor. The neighbor had plans to develop the property and was particularly concerned about losing the opportunity to another particular prospect. The former nursery site was sold to a winery that already had an intimate knowledge of the property. While the ultimate purchasers were at the doorstep the whole time, the implementation of a strategic and thorough marketing plan enabled us to maximize value and to enable to enable the Board to make informed decisions on the sale of the subject properties.
Testimonial:
“I initially met Mark when he represented a family company on whose Board I sat and advised. The family had several diverse land holdings that had been used for the extended family’s agricultural based businesses. Mark and his team marketed these properties and did an outstanding job of proving the value and then clearly explaining the sale process and market response to the Board members in ways that were concise, practical and compelling. More importantly, Mark was able to position the properties to the respective purchasers in order to maximize the value to the shareholders. The Board was very pleased with Mark’s representation.”
