Bedford forfeits $20m site in bailout deal as new manufacturing hub hangs in balance

Disability services provider Bedford Group will surrender land worth more than $20 million as part of its government bailout, whilst the future of its brand new $45 million manufacturing hub remains uncertain, according to reports on Monday.

The Australian Business Network reported Bedford will relinquish its 3.9-hectare Balyana site at Clapham, which houses around 40 people in supported accommodation, in exchange for a $15 million funding injection from the South Australian government.

Property industry sources told the publication the prime location near Adelaide's city centre would attract strong demand from housing and retirement village developers, with an estimated market value exceeding $20 million.

Meanwhile, the fate of Bedford's advanced manufacturing facility at Salisbury South hangs in the balance just four months after construction was completed. Bedford owns a 50 per cent share in the 19,250 square metre facility through a joint venture with Leyton Funds, and had signed a 15-year lease to consolidate its social enterprises at the site.

The facility features furniture manufacturing areas and a food and beverage hub for Bedford's Cultivate Food & Beverage enterprise. Leyton Funds managing director Warwick Mittiga declined to comment on the project's future, citing an “evolving situation”.

The bailout followed Bedford's brush with voluntary administration over the weekend, which threatened 1400 workers across 22 South Australian sites. Chief executive Myron Mann resigned as part of the rescue plan, with the board establishing new leadership to work alongside restructuring advisers McGrathNicol.

Bedford is Australia's second-largest employer of people with disability and had been pursuing an ambitious $50 million Future Bedford Strategy before its financial difficulties emerged.

Picture: LinkedIn