Farmers’ group holds out for deal with Golden Vale Mart

WHILE the farmer-led consortium may have been knocked back with their €300,000 offer for the vacant Sixmilebridge livestock mart, the group remains defiant and continues to hold out hope that they may still be able to broker a deal with Golden Vale Mart (GVM).
In fact, their hand may be strengthened on the basis that their understanding is that two higher offers on the property, located on 4.5 acres at Ballysheen, have fallen through because of difficulties in securing funding, thus leaving their bid as the only real offer currently on the table.
Paul O’Neill, a member of the Sixmilebidge and District Farmers’ Group, confirmed to The Clare Champion that they had no intention on giving up on the property and that they would continue to push their bid in the hope of acquiring the mart and have it open for September sales.
“GVM has turned down our offer but it doesn’t end there. We certainly won’t be throwing in the towel or walking away from this. We will be doing everything we possibly can to get GVM into negotiations and to convince them to change their minds. This is an important facility and we are more determined than ever to bring negotiations to a satisfactory conclusion particularly for members of the farming community.
“We are legitimate buyers, we have funds in place and we are ready to move if can get agreement on a sale price. These are difficult farming times and farmers needs these facilities sooner rather than later,” he claimed.
Mr O’Neill emphasised that although GVM has indicated that they are not going to accept their offer, the group would now review its strategy going forward.
“Our next step is to review the position we now find ourselves in, decide where we go from here, what our next step should be and what format that should take,” he explained.
It has also emerged that the Sixmilebridge and District Farmers’ Group has an offer of a green-field site if negotiations with GVM collapse.
“We have a fallback but the development of a new mart on a greenfield site is not our preferred option. We want to acquire the old mart premises. We were hoping to acquire it in time for September sales but if we were to go down the road of construction a new mart you are looking at a much longer timeframe.
“When you factor in negotiating the purchase of the green-field site, going through the whole planning process and the construction costs, you are looking at least 12 months to 18 months down the road before you’d have it up and running. That option is there in the background but our preferred choice remains the purchase of the vacant mart premises,” he confirmed.