Wealthy entrepreneurs Nick Paspaley and Tim Fairfax spend up big on rural properties

Wealthy entrepreneurs continue to target property sector investments, but this time the focus has shifted from the city to the bush.

Nick Paspaley, head of the Paspaley pearl empire, finalised a deal to buy South Tahara, a 2,666 hectare property that features a 14 bedroom home. According to a report in the Australian Financial Review, the deal was completed on Friday.

The vendor was the Four Arrows Group, which is associated with the family of Rod Price. Four Arrows is managed by Brandon Price, son of Rod Price, who filed for bankruptcy earlier this month.

While a purchase price has not been revealed, the asking price was around $30 million.

Moving further north to Queensland, Fairfax family member Tim Fairfax has paid $15 million for grazing properties Orana Park and Shenandoah.

Rural property prices have been extremely strong in the last 18 months. Since December last year more than $1.5 billion worth of cattle stations have changed hands, with investors including Kerry Stokes snapping up properties.

One of the biggest deals saw James Packer sell his rural holdings to British firm Terra Firma for $425 million. The deal was reportedly done on a multiple of 17 times earnings, which gives some indication of the strong state of the market.