Breaking: Sale of Tasmania's biggest farm to UK forestry investor approved

The sale of Rushy Lagoon, Tasmania's largest farm, to a prominent UK forestry investor has received the green light from Australian Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers. The deal, valued at over $100 million, will see the Tasmanian Natural Asset Trust, managed by the UK's Gresham House, acquire the sprawling property near Cape Portland.

Rushy Lagoon, comprising 20,523 hectares, and the adjacent 1,221-hectare East Wyambi, has been owned by New Zealand's Pye family since 1996. The approval follows a rigorous vetting process by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), which had been reviewing Gresham House's application for over six months and had postponed its final decision multiple times.

Treasurer Chalmers declared the sale to be in the national interest. The irrigated livestock and cropping farm was initially put on the market in October 2024, with expressions of interest closing in November 2025. Gresham House, a London-headquartered forestry manager and investment firm, emerged as the frontrunner early in the sale process.

The approval signifies a significant foreign investment in Tasmania's agricultural sector, with the UK investor set to manage one of the state's most substantial landholdings. The FIRB's extended review underscores the careful consideration given to such large-scale foreign acquisitions.

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in the national interest