Gladstone Land Buys over 1,000 Acres of Florida Farmland
December 22, 2021 | James Sprow | Blue Vault
Farmland real estate investment trust Gladstone Land Corp. acquired 1,204 gross acres of farmland, including 975 farmable acres, in Fort Myers, Fla., for approximately $7.4 million.
The seller and tenant signed a five-year, triple-net lease agreement with Gladstone for the land, which is mainly used for farming sod, melons and cattle.
Gladstone Land Corp. is an externally-managed, agricultural real estate investment trust (“REIT”) that is engaged in the business of owning and leasing farmland. The REIT is not a grower of crops, nor does it typically farm the properties it owns. As of September 30, 2021, the REIT owned 160 farms comprised of 108,301 acres located across 14 states in the U.S. It also owned several farm-related facilities, such as cooling facilities, packinghouses, processing facilities, and various storage facilities. From July 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021, the REIT acquired seven farms comprised of 3,019 acres, in California, Florida and Oregon. The total purchase price for the farms was $108.6 million.
The REIT conducts substantially all of its activities through, and all of its properties are held, directly or indirectly, by, Gladstone Land Limited Partnership (the “Operating Partnership”). For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the REIT received proceeds of $161.3 million from the issuance of preferred and common equity.
Gladstone Management Corporation (the REIT’s “Adviser”) manages the real estate portfolio pursuant to an advisory agreement, and Gladstone Administration, LLC (the “Administrator”), provides administrative services to the REIT pursuant to an administration agreement. The Adviser and the Administrator collectively employ all the REIT’s personnel and directly pay their salaries, benefits, and general expenses.
Portfolio Diversity
Since its initial public offering in January 2013 (the “IPO”), the REIT has expanded its portfolio from 12 farms leased to 7 different, unrelated tenants to a current portfolio of 160 farms leased to 82 different, unrelated third-party tenants who grow over 60 different types of crops on its farms. While the REIT’s focus remains in farmland suitable for growing fresh produce annual row crops, it has also diversified the portfolio into farmland suitable for other crop types, including permanent crops (e.g., almonds, blueberries, pistachios, and wine grapes) and, to a lesser extent, certain commodity crops (e.g., beans and corn).
Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence, SEC
