NT's Benmara cattle station sold for millions less than expected

Benmara Station, a 450,000-hectare property in the Northern Territory's Barkly region, has been sold to UK-based livestock producer Shaun Davis for $26 million. The sale price is $14 million less than the property's last sale price in 2023.

The station, located about 100 kilometers west of the Queensland border, had been "largely destocked" over the past 18 months. According to documents from the NT Land Titles Office, the property settled on September 2, ending a complicated period of ownership.

Benmara was last purchased in 2023 for $40 million by Sam Mitchell, the founder of Sydney-based investment company WealthCheck. The company, along with its US investment partner Hartree, had plans to run a large carbon project on Benmara using the Human Induced Regeneration (HIR) methodology.

The station had a carbon project registered with the Clean Energy Regulator (CER), but according to the CER website, the project never generated any carbon credits and was revoked in December 2025. The HIR methodology has since been shelved by the federal government, with no new projects to be registered under the method.

In 2024, WealthCheck went into liquidation and Benmara was listed for sale in 2025, "priced to sell at $35 million or nearest offer".

CBRE Agribusiness, the agent, said on its website that Benmara was offered with an estimated carrying capacity of 17,500 adult equivalents, although the property had been "largely destocked over the past 18 months". "The property offers ample potential for further development," it said.

Maryfield and Limbunya Stations, previously owned by WealthCheck, have been relisted for sale this week.