The price paid by Ingka Investments - the investment arm of Ingka Group, the largest franchisee of Ikea stores internationally - for a South Otago farm has not been revealed in the latest Overseas Investment Office (OIO) decisions.
Last month, Ingka Group announced it had received OIO approval to purchase the 5500ha Wisp Hill Station in the Owaka Valley for forestry development.
This week, Land Information New Zealand released the latest OIO decisions, but the asset value for the purchase was withheld under the Official Information Act.
The decision said the applicants applied for consent under the special test relating to forestry activities.
The land was currently in use as a sheep and beef farming operation, as well as 53ha of existing forest.
The applicants planned to establish and maintain about 2982ha of radiata pine plantation forest over five years.
About 110ha of farmland, including three dwellings, would be subdivided and sold.
The remainder of the land would be unplanted including native bush (1021ha), potential regeneration land (892ha), buffer land, setbacks and riparian areas (323ha), high altitude land (130ha) and roads and tracks (28ha).
The land was a combination of land use capability class 3 (417.6ha), class 4 (1054.3ha), class 5 (2510.9ha), class 6 (1538.5ha) and class 7 (16.5ha).
Land use capability classification is a system in use in New Zealand since the 1950s to try to achieve sustainable land development and management on farms.
Class 1 land is the most versatile and can be used for a wide range of land uses. Class 8 land has a lot of physical limitations.
