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Riverbend Pork Group – Company Profile

Company structure and ownership: Riverbend Pork Group Pty Ltd is an Australian private company (Pty Ltd) founded in 2017 (ABN 14 617 898 727, ACN 617 898 727). It is headquartered in Toowoomba, Queensland (Suite 4, 487–489 Ruthven Street) and operates as a consortium of independent pig-farming families. The group was established by the Salisbury, Taylor, Anderson, Fisher and Whitby families and remains privately held by these founding family shareholders. Tracy Anderson (Anderson family) serves as Board Chair, reflecting the family-based ownership structure.

  • ABN/ACN: 14 617 898 727 / 617 898 727 (registered QLD, active since Mar 2017).
  • Legal form: Australian proprietary company (Pty Ltd).
  • Headquarters: Toowoomba, QLD (Suite 4, 487–489 Ruthven St).
  • Owners: Consortium of five QLD pig-farming families (Salisbury, Taylor, Anderson, Fisher, Whitby).
  • Board: Led by farmer/director Tracy Anderson (Chair); other founding family members occupy executive or board roles.

Financial Performance and Revenue

As a privately held group, Riverbend does not publish financial statements. Public data is limited to third-party estimates and asset appraisals. For example, business data sites estimate Riverbend’s annual revenue on the order of ~A$1.7 million. In the 2022 sale listing (“Project Fork”), the company’s farm assets (12 farms) were valued at roughly A$65 million. No audited profit figures are publicly available.

  • Revenue (estimate): ~A$1.7M/year (Growjo estimate).
  • Assets (farms & land): ~A$65M (farm assets value in sale offer).
  • Capital: Privately financed by family equity; in late 2022 owners sought new investment or sale.
  • Profitability: Not publicly reported. (Analyst estimates and industry comparisons suggest modest margins typical of intensive pork production.)

Management and Key Personnel

Riverbend’s top executives are based at the Toowoomba head office. Founding families retain senior roles: Jeremy Whitby serves as Managing Director, and Andrew Morris is Chief Operating Officer. Financial management is led by CFO Anthony Houghton, who joined in 2022. The executive leadership (often called the Riverbend Leadership Team) also includes COO Guy Holcroft (as of 2022) and General Manager of People & Culture Tara Maguire. The board is chaired by Tracy Anderson, a pig producer and industry leader from the Anderson farming family.

  • Managing Director: Jeremy Whitby (from a founding family).
  • Chief Operating Officer: Andrew Morris (oversees production and logistics).
  • Chief Financial Officer: Anthony Houghton (joined 2022, leads finance).
  • GM – People & Culture: Tara Maguire.
  • Board Chair: Tracy Anderson (farmer, industry leader).
  • (Other staff at head office include Compliance Officer Cesar Gomez and Agribusiness Officer Karina Cortes, both based in Toowoomba.)

Operations and Assets

Riverbend is one of Australia’s largest integrated pork producers, with both breeding and growing operations. It owns about 12 freehold farms (totaling ~1,038 hectares) across southern Queensland and northern New South Wales, and additionally leases roughly 6 farms with supply contracts on ~20 more farms. These farms collectively carry about 100,000 pigs, including some 9,700 breeding sows. Production capacity is on the order of 4,500 market pigs per week. All Riverbend farms meet the Australian Pig Industry Quality (APIQ) standards for animal welfare and food safety. Products (mainly whole pork carcasses) are sold through domestic and export channels, under the “Riverbend Quality Australian Pork” brand.

  • Farms: ~12 owned freeholds (~1,038 ha total) + 6 leased farms + ~20 contract farms. Locations in fertile regions of QLD (e.g. Kingaroy area) and northern NSW.
  • Livestock: ~100,000 total pigs, including ~9,700 sows; farrow-to-finish operations on site.
  • Production Scale: ~4,500 finished pigs/week (roughly 230,000 pigs/year).
  • Certifications: All farms APIQ-accredited for quality and sustainability.
  • Distribution: Markets primarily whole pork carcasses through domestic and export channels.

Recent Developments and Media Coverage

In November 2022 Riverbend garnered major media attention via “Project Fork”, a managed sale process. Oxley Capital Partners was appointed to seek a buyer or investor for the entire business. The owners (the five founding families) publicly invited offers for 100% of Riverbend’s assets and operations. At that time, the 12 farms and business were collectively valued at about A$65 million. Company spokespeople (via Oxley Capital) noted they were open to either a full exit or bringing in a new equity partner to recapitalise the business. To date no sale has been publicly announced; the listings affirmed Riverbend as Australia’s third-largest pork producer (behind Riverlea/JBS and SunPork).

Beyond Project Fork, Riverbend’s activities have primarily been covered in agricultural press and local media focused on production and sustainability. For example, industry outlets note Riverbend’s technology trials (e.g. automated pig-weighing systems) and its involvement in quality programs. No major mergers, acquisitions or structural changes (apart from the attempted sale) have been reported as of 2024.

  • Project Fork (Nov 2022): Owners retained Oxley Capital to “sell or recapitalise” Riverbend. Assets offered included 12 farms (valued ~$65M) and the operating business.
  • Market position: Cited as 3rd-largest pork producer on Australia’s east coast.
  • Media: Coverage mainly about the sale process (AFR, industry press) and profiles of founders. Smaller mentions include technology deployments (e.g. pig weighing).
  • Strategic notes: The sale effort reflects consolidation in the Australian pork industry, but no other public strategic transactions (e.g. acquisitions) involving Riverbend have emerged to date.

Sources: Corporate registers and ABN/ASIC records; Riverbend’s own site and newsletters; industry media (Financial Review, CommercialRealEstate.com, GlobalAgInvesting); commercial business-data services (Growjo); and company filings (environmental management plans). All data are drawn from the latest available sources (circa 2022–2025).