A 182ac tillage farm in Co. Meath has been sold for €3.15 million to an Irish-based buyer in a public auction, head of country agency at Savills, James Butler has confirmed.

Parkstown house and farm in Ballivor had previously been valued at €3 million, however the property went under the hammer for a price of €17,300/ac.

The property attracted bids from the farming and business world with parties living in Ireland and abroad, according to Savills.

The property comprises extensive farm buildings with winter accommodation for about 550 head of cattle and 3,000t of grain storage. 

“The sale of Parkstown farm shows that large-scale equipped commercial farms continue to attract demand from international and local cash buyers who are attracted to farmland as a long-term investment.

“[Such investment] serves as an inflationary hedge and offers conservation opportunities, in addition to food production,” according to Butler.

About 20 viewings have been carried out before the property was sold by Savills and Loman Dempsey Property Consultants on Tuesday (October 11) at Trim Castle Hotel.

Tillage farm

Three fields adjoining the house and yard are presently in grass and are fenced and watered for livestock, according to Savills.

The fields can produce high yields of the full range of cereals and root crops, and they are of a good workable size and layout for modern agricultural techniques.

The recent cropping at Parkstown includes winter wheat; winter barley; oats; oil seed rape; potatoes; and maize. Frontage onto three roads and a hardcore internal farm road provide easy access to the fields.

In addition to the tillage crops, a beef-finishing enterprise was previously in operation at Parkstown, and the land has benefitted from regular applications of organic fertiliser.