The business, which will now trade as Farmcare Trading Ltd, has been bought as a going concern, with just under 250 Farmcare employees transferring with immediate effect.
Danny Truell, Chief Investment Officer of the Wellcome Trust, said: "We believe that we are ideally placed to develop and grow the Co-operative Group’s farms and farm business while providing continuity, and we are delighted to have acquired them in what will be one of the largest global deals of its kind.
The philosophy of the Trust is to provide long-term investment for the businesses and property held, in good times and in bad.
The purchase includes:
- 15,997 hectares (39,533 acres) of freehold
and third party owned land - 15 farms, including three pack houses
- over 100 residential properties
- 27 commercial properties
“We will take this approach to running Farmcare Trading Ltd as a going concern, giving a business that is already strong and successful the support and resources it needs to grow, to the benefit of employees, tenants, partners and local communities," said Mr Truell.
NFU food chain adviser Tom Lander said: “Without knowing the full details of the offer made by the Wellcome Trust, today’s announcement serves to underline the confidence in the UK agricultural sector.
“It is good news that the farming business has a secured future for the time being and the NFU would welcome the opportunity to work with the Trust to understand its future aspirations.
“We welcome the comments made by Richard Pennycook of Co-op and Danny Truell of Wellcome Trust, whereby they anticipate the farming business continuing to thrive over a long-term period and that they are actively seeking to grow the farm business.”
Richard Pennycook, Interim Group Chief Executive of The Co-operative Group commented that the sale was an important development for The Co-operative Group. He said: “The sale proceeds will enable us to further reduce our debt and progress with the delivery of the clear strategic plans we have in place for our core retail and consumer services’ divisions.
"In the Wellcome Trust we have a buyer whose values are closely aligned to those of The Co-operative. They have a proven track record in managing a sustainable investment portfolio, the proceeds of which are used to fund improvements in biomedical science and learning. "
The acquisition adds to the Wellcome Trust’s property portfolio which includes a major estate in South Kensington, London and agricultural holdings in Hinxton in Cambridgeshire, Kings Langley in Hertfordshire, and Alpraham in Cheshire.