Cork's popular Rumley’s Open Farm goes on the market for €1.5m
Bringing home the bacon: Ivan Rumley with Sophie the Mangalitza (wooly pig) at Rumley's Open Farm, Cork. Picture: Denis Minihane.
EARLY 2025 offers are in already on a €1.5m personal pet project.... the chance to take over an open farm, pet and play zone on the fringes of Cork city with a successful trading history going back to the early 2000s.
Gone to market in Christmas week was Rumley’s Open Farm at Liberty Hill, Waterfall just three miles from Bishopstown, home to a very profitable visitor/educational trading business with animals (but, no reindeer as of Xmas 2024) at its core.
The business, comprising 20,000 sq ft of buildings, amenities and attractions on 5.44 acres, is for sale with Ernest Forde and Andy Donoghue of Hodnett Forde with a €1.5 million price guide and who say it’s a “renowned and profitable business, and so far, since its launch, we have had considerable interest from a wide range of business people operating in such industries such as outdoor activity, horticulture, pet-farm and as a going concern.”
Formal viewings commence next week after the current cold weather snap lifts, and it’s understood that provisional early offers around €1m have already been made on the venture at Rumley’s.
The innovative operation was set up with a c €1 million investment by owner Ivan Rumley in 2012, building on an earlier started fledgling entrepreneurial venture on 20 acres on a larger, c 90 acre working dairy farm at Waterfall, inherited by Mr Rumley from uncles in the 1980, according to media reports at that time when it was reported that his agri-tourism venture aimed to set up ten jobs.
Confirming the decision to hive off the open farm element (which included early days, innovative robotic milking of cows, and exotic animals such as meerkats and marmoset monkeys) on over five acres this coming year, Ivan Rumley thanked all who’d supported it over 14 years, who’d worked there and visited.
He said: “It is with great regret and due to health reasons, that I have decided to put the Open Farm up for sale. Running a busy working farm alongside the Open farm is proving to be too much.”
"I think that now is the time for someone new to take over and take it to the next level,” Mr Rumley added.
Selling agents Hodnett Forde also cited the owner’s health reasons as the impetus to sell the Open Farm noting that “it has grown into one of the busiest and well known family attractions in Cork County having evolved into a stream-lined enterprise accommodating a wide variety of animals and children’s play zones.”
The 5.44 acre holding has over 20,000 sq ft of commercial buildings, including a 50 seat café/restaurant, commercial kitchen, gift shop, covered outdoor area, indoor soft play area, covered petting areas, pens, and support buildings.
Also developed are a tennis court, crazy golf, a pedal go-kart track, fenced paddocks and over 500 metres of concrete access internal roadway, and back-up include three-phase power, CCTV/alarms, air-con and private services.
Location is just off the N71 near Ballinhassig, the main city to West Cork highway at the top of the old city Liberties, near Cork Airport and the Viaduct.
“This is a most unique opportunity to acquire a prime commercial holding, with the option of a renowned business located on the doorstep of Cork City and open to a variety of uses,” say estate agents Hodnett Forde.
The sale offer right now does not include livestock/pets: “they’re not part of the conversation at present however this can be discussed depending on the purchaser's requirements,” says Andy Donoghue.
DETAILS: Hodnett Forde 023-8833367
