Great Southern headaches continue

The administrators of collapsed agribusiness group Great Southern have warned investors they may lose ownership of certain products being harvested on leased land, with the administrators unable to secure funding to pay rent.

The affected projects are Southern’s 2008 High Value Timber Project, its 2007 and 2008 almond schemes, as well as Great Southern Plantations' projects between 2004 and 2005.

In each of these projects some or all of the land containing the products is leased from third parties. The schemes have been unfunded since the end of September, and the receivers, McGrath Nicol, have been unable to secure alternative funding to date.

The receivers are no longer taking on responsibility for the payment of rent under those leases. As such, the landlords may have the right to terminate those leases and take possession of the properties, however, with a voluntary administrator in place, their ability to do so is limited, according to McGrath Nicol.

If landlords do take possession of the leased properties, the ownership of the products on that land will also revert to the landlords, meaning future harvest proceeds will be unlikely to be available to investors.

McGrath Nicol is advising investors with lots on leased land to consider seeking independent legal advice.