Gladstone Land Acquires Organic Farmland in North Carolina for $2.2 million
June 05 2017 - 8:30AM
Gladstone Land Corporation (NASDAQ:LAND) (“Gladstone Land” or the
“Company”) announced today that it has acquired two contiguous
farms totaling 310 organic acres in North Carolina for
approximately $2.2 million. Upon acquisition, Gladstone Land
entered into a 10-year lease agreement with Southern Belle Organics
LLC (“Southern Belle”), a leading organic farming operation for
berries and vegetables and the current tenant on each of the
farms. The lease agreement includes an annually-escalating
base rent plus a revenue-sharing component based on the crops
harvested on the farms.
“We are extremely pleased to make our first acquisition in the
Carolinas, one of the premier growing regions in the eastern U.S.
for fruits and vegetables,” said Bill Frisbie, the Company’s
Managing Director for the Eastern U.S. “We hope to partner
with many of the other great farmers in the Carolinas to acquire
more farms growing blueberries, sweet potatoes, and many other crop
types.”
“Southern Belle is excited to partner with Gladstone as we grow
our organic berry and vegetable business,” said Bricklyn Rooks,
owner of Southern Belle. “The capital infusion from this
sale-leaseback will be invested in the latest harvesting and
packing technologies that will enable greater efficiency and higher
food safety standards for our operation.”
“We are continuing our strong growth by entering into a new
state with our third acquisition of 2017,” said David Gladstone,
President and CEO of Gladstone Land. “This acquisition
increases our organic acreage and further expands the
diversification within our portfolio, as we now own farms in eight
states across the U.S. We are putting to work the equity we
raised a couple of months ago, and with the strong returns expected
from these new farms, we believe this acquisition will help us
achieve our goal of being able to regularly increase the
distributions we pay to our shareholders, as we have over the past
few years.”
About Gladstone Land
Corporation:Gladstone Land is a
publicly-traded real estate investment trust that invests in
farmland located in major agricultural markets in the U.S., which
it leases to farmers, and pays monthly distributions to its
stockholders. The Company intends to report the current fair
value of its farmland on a quarterly basis; as of March 31, 2017,
the estimated net asset value of the Company was $14.47 per
share. Gladstone Land currently owns 65 farms, comprised of
57,912 acres in 8 different states across the U.S., valued at
approximately $490 million. Its acreage is predominantly
concentrated in locations where its tenants are able to grow fresh
produce annual row crops, such as berries and vegetables, which are
planted and harvested annually or more frequently; as well as
permanent crops, such as almonds, blueberries, and pistachios,
which are planted every 10 to 20-plus years. The Company also
may acquire property related to farming, such as cooling
facilities, processing buildings, packaging facilities, and
distribution centers. Gladstone Land has paid 52 consecutive
monthly cash distributions on its common stock since its initial
public offering in January 2013, and the current per-share
distribution on its common stock is $0.0435 per month, or $0.522
per year. Additional information can be found at
www.GladstoneLand.com and www.GladstoneFarms.com.
Owners or brokers who have farmland for sale in the U.S. should
contact:
- Eastern U.S. – Bill Frisbie at (703) 287-5839 or
bill.f@gladstoneland.com
- Western U.S. – Bill Reiman at (805) 263-4778 or
bill.r@gladstoneland.com
- Midwest U.S. – Bill Hughes at (618) 606-2887 or
bill.h@gladstoneland.com
For stockholder information on Gladstone Land, call (703)
287-5893. For Investor Relations inquiries related to any of
the monthly dividend-paying Gladstone funds, please visit
www.Gladstone.com.
All statements contained in this press release, other than
historical facts, may constitute "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends,"
"plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" and variations of the
foregoing words and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. Readers should not rely upon
forward-looking statements because the matters they describe are
subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could
cause the Company's business, financial condition, liquidity,
results of operations, funds from operations or prospects to differ
materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements.
Such risks and uncertainties are disclosed under the caption
"Risk Factors" of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 (the “Form 10-K”), and
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31,
2017 (the “Form 10-Q”), each as filed with the SEC. The
Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made.
The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
law.
For a definition of net asset value and a reconciliation to the
most directly-comparable GAAP measure, please see the Company’s
Form 10-K or Form 10-Q.
For further information: Gladstone Land, 703-287-5893
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