Global investment manager New Forests has moved deeper into Australian agriculture, with its $600 million Australia New Zealand Landscapes and Forestry Fund snapping up a portfolio of macadamia orchards in Queensland’s Bundaberg Wide Bay region.
The 636-hectare holding — to be named Bunya Orchards — includes 341 ha of established, high-density macadamia orchards, 50 ha of grazing land flagged for greenfield development, and retained native vegetation with scope for environmental plantings across the broader footprint.
Day-to-day orchard management will remain with Macadamia Farm Management, Australia’s largest macadamia orchard manager, while New Forests’ related entity, New Agriculture, will oversee the broader asset strategy.
“This aligns with our whole of landscape investment strategy,” said David Shelton, managing director for Australia and New Zealand and global head of investments at New Forests.
The acquisition is the fund’s second agricultural deal in seven months, and Mr Shelton said it was designed to broaden the portfolio’s exposure beyond timber and into land-based assets with different return drivers.
“The asset provides exposure to a high-growth tree nut market while enabling opportunities to integrate natural capital, improve ecological outcomes and build long-term value for our investors,” he said.
Bundaberg is Australia’s top macadamia-producing region, sitting at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef catchment, with a well-established processing ecosystem and strong global demand for the nut.
New Forests is flagging a range of value-add plays beyond straight production. The native vegetation on the property opens a pathway to Australian Carbon Credit Units, biodiversity credits and other nature-based market programs, while the greenfield grazing land gives the fund room to expand the orchard footprint without a new land purchase.
On the emissions side, the plan includes switching irrigation systems to on-site solar and battery storage, phasing out diesel farm vehicles in favour of electric and hybrid alternatives, and reducing fertiliser inputs through biological solutions where the agronomics stack up.
“The acquisition strengthens ANZLAFF’s agricultural footprint and further diversifies exposure across uncorrelated land-based asset types and geographies,” Mr Shelton said.
The first agricultural deal came in August 2025, when the fund took a 50% stake in McPhee Beef Farms — later renamed Benditi — a high-quality F1 Wagyu beef operation.
Investors in the ANZLAFF fund include Swedish pension fund Andra AP-fonden (AP2), German pension group Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), the federal government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation, and an Australian and a German insurer.
The Bunya Orchards name is a nod to the bunya pine — a Queensland native that holds deep significance for the Gubbi Gubbi people, who have long symbolised abundance. Seasonal nut harvests were occasions for ceremony and gathering among tribes, bringing communities across the region together. Mr Shelton said the name felt right for an asset planted in that landscape.
