A 95ac non-residential farm in Co Laois sold for €680,000 above its guide price when it sold at auction at the end of October.

Listed with Portlaoise-based Hennessy Auctioneers, the property at Drumashellig, Ballyroan, attracted strong interest in advance of the sale and nine bidders were registered to participate in the auction.

It was offered in four lots, consisting of lot 1 59ac with the farmyard; lot 2 16ac; lot 3 19.5ac; and lot 4 the entire.

Following three rounds of active bidding on the lots that bid to €1.84m, it was clearly evident most interest was in the entire. In contrast, the combined total of the other three lots stood at €1.28m.

After consultation with the vendors, the entire was placed on the market at €1.84m. The pace picked up significantly from here, as it became a two-horse race and brisk bidding saw the property exceed €2m in less than a minute before the hammer dropped at €2.08m.

Bought in trust

This equates to €21,895/ac, significantly above the property’s pre-sale geode price of €1.4m (approximately €14,700/ac). The farm was bought in trust by a solicitor.

A spokesperson for Hennessy Auctioneers said: “This premium price is a reflection on the quality of the land sold and its location in the heart of a good farming area.”

The farm is well located in the county, with Abbeyleix, Ballyroan and Ballinakill all within a five-minute drive. Elevated and with good views over the surrounding countryside, it has frontage on to two roads.

Well maintained, the land is currently in a mix of grass and tillage and it drew large interest given few properties of this size, particularity those in one block, come on the market.

Constructed in the 1980s, the yard was built to a high specification at the time and is in good order.

Alongside the main four-bay, round-roofed steel shed with a lean-to on each side, there is also a silage apron, a dung stead and a large cattle pen with a crush.

With all those basics available, it has plenty of potential to be further developed as a yard if desired.