The Co-operative Group has sold its 15 farms to the Wellcome Trust for £249 million.
The troubled group, which picked up huge losses through its banking arm, announced it was selling its farm portfolio earlier this year in order to focus on its core retail and consumer services divisions.
A spokesperson for the firm said that the net proceeds of the farms sale - to the world's second biggest charitable foundation - would be used to further reduce the group's debt and invest in its core businesses.
The Co-op had been keen to sell its wide-ranging farm portfolio - including 15,997 hectares of land, and three packhouses - as a single entity, rather than break the business up.
All existing farmcare management and employees will transfer with immediate effect.
Richard Pennycook, The Co-op’s interim group chief executive, said: “The successful sale of our farms business is another important development for The Co-operative Group.
“The sale proceeds will enable us to further reduce our debt and progress with the delivery of the clear strategic plans we have in place for our core retail and consumer services’ divisions.
“In the Wellcome Trust we have a buyer whose values are closely aligned to those of The Co-operative. The Wellcome Trust has acquired an excellent farming business characterised by the quality and professionalism of colleagues and high levels of customer service. I expect the farming business to continue to thrive under their committed long-term ownership.”
The Wellcome Trust spends more than £700 million a year on driving improvements in human and animal health, including investment to support public engagement and education in these fields.
Its notable achievements include funding much of the sequencing of the human genetic code, and research that enabled the introduction of the frontline drugs used to fight malaria.
The Trust’s work is supported by a £16.5 billion endowment, which has grown by 153 per cent over the past decade.
The Wellcome Trust owns property valued at £1.8 billion as of September 2013, including significant agricultural holdings, including in Hinxton in Cambridgeshire, Kings Langley in Hertfordshire, and Alpraham in Cheshire.
