The sale of Occombe Farm to Greendale Farm Shop has completed

A former family attraction and farm site on the edge of Paignton has been sold to the owners of an Exeter-based farm shop for an undisclosed sum.

Greendale has acquired Occombe Farm from Torbay Council and is now planning to make “significant investment” to reopen it, it said. The site has been shut since the end of last year when the Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust went into liquidation, with the local authority taking over the maintenance of Occombe and the surrounding land.

Greendale said the acquisition marked “the beginning of an exciting new chapter” for the site.

In the short term, Greendale is planning to reopen some of Occombe’s most popular features, including the farm kitchen, indoor play barn and nature trail.

These facilities will be operated by local leisure specialists, headed up by Thomas Shwenn and his team, who have strong ties to the Bay.

Greendale is also proposing to create new retail and leisure facilities at the site in the longer term. It is understood the redevelopment of Occombe could create some 200 jobs.

Rowan Carter, chief executive of Greendale Group, said: “We look forward to restoring Occombe Farm to its former place at the heart of the Torbay community. Greendale will work closely with local specialists to deliver a site that Torbay can be proud of. We’re also delighted that familiar faces will be returning, with the farm kitchen and play barn staffed by former Occombe employees.

“We are excited to develop this partnership and are confident that Tom Shwenn and his team will deliver the Occombe Farm family experience that so many people remember fondly.”

Mr Shwenn asked the people of Torbay to “bear with us” as he and his team “bring the vision to life”.

He said: “I’m extremely excited to be taking on the operation of Occombe Farm and to have the opportunity to bring this incredible site back to life. We have a long-term vision for Occombe that will see it become one of the South West’s leading family destinations, while staying true to what has always made it so special.

“Knowing what an amazing place Occombe is, and how much it has meant to generations of local families, is something I’m incredibly passionate about. Our aim is to bring that back while investing in the future and creating a destination that benefits the whole local community.”

Australia’s benchmark stock index closed narrowly higher Friday, capping a strong week that pushed the S&P/ASX 200 close to a five-month high, as easing domestic inflation and a powerful overnight rally in U.S. technology stocks helped offset a pullback from the session’s earlier highs.

The S&P/ASX 200 finished up 0.10%, adding 9.3 points to close at 8,977.0, trading well below its intraday high after touching gains of as much as 1.03% earlier in the session. The pullback was most pronounced in the materials sector, which surged as much as 3.13% in early trade before easing back to close up 1.49%, part of a pattern of outsized daily swings that has characterized mining and resources stocks over the past eight trading sessions, according to analysis from Marketindex.com.au’s Kerry Sun. Despite the late-session fade, the ASX 200 closed the week 2.5% higher and trading close to a five-month high.

The rally traced its roots to a powerful overnight session on Wall Street. Major U.S. benchmarks pushed higher through the session and finished near their best levels, with the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumping 2.7% to snap a six-day losing streak as investors returned to the artificial intelligence trade that has driven much of the market’s gains over the past year. The S&P 500 climbed 1.66% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.19% in the same session. Microsoft was the standout performer, surging more than 15% and adding roughly $450 billion in market capitalization in a single day, a record one-day gain in dollar value for any publicly traded company. Chipmakers broadly participated in the rebound as well, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gaining 8%.

The overnight strength on Wall Street flowed directly into Australian trading. Futures markets had pointed to a sharply higher open in Sydney, with September SPI futures settling up 77 points, or 0.86%, at 9,012.5 ahead of the local session, after the ASX 200 had ended Thursday’s session 0.78% lower at 8,967.7 points, snapping what had been a winning streak for the index.

Domestic economic data released earlier in the week also contributed to the positive tone across Australian markets. A cooler-than-expected consumer price index reading published Wednesday eased some investor concerns about the pace of future interest rate moves from the Reserve Bank of Australia, adding to a generally constructive backdrop for equities heading into the week’s close.

Commodity markets showed a mixed picture that shaped individual sector performance within the index. Gold prices climbed sharply overnight, with futures rising 1.65% to $4,102.30 an ounce, a move that boosted sentiment toward gold miners including Evolution Mining and Newmont Corporation heading into Friday’s session. Iron ore prices also firmed, aided in part by strike threats affecting BHP Group’s operations, even as underlying demand signals out of China remained comparatively weak. Oil prices moved in the opposite direction, with Brent crude falling 16% since July 23 and closing down 1.88% at $89.03 a barrel in the most recent session, while U.S. crude dropped 1.03% to $83.59, a decline that weighed on energy-focused stocks including Santos and Woodside Energy Group even as both companies have continued to draw some support from concerns about ongoing Middle East shipping risks.

Lithium stocks drew renewed analyst attention during the week following quarterly production updates. Brokerage Bell Potter maintained its speculative buy rating on Vulcan Energy Resources while trimming its price target to $4.50 from $6.10, and held its hold rating on Pilbara Minerals while cutting its target to $4.70 from $6.15. Commenting on Pilbara Minerals specifically, Bell Potter said the company “will generate substantial earnings and cash flow with the restart of the 200ktpa Ngungaju processing plant” at current lithium market prices, while noting that its P2000 and Colina development studies “are being progressed, providing substantial organic growth optionality in markets with strong underlying EV and BESS-led long term demand fundamentals.”

Longer-term bond yields presented a potential headwind for growth-oriented stocks heading into the new trading week. The U.S. 30-year Treasury yield reached its highest level in 19 years during the week, a development that analysts said could constrain further gains in growth-sensitive sectors of the market if the trend continues, even as the immediate market reaction to this week’s data and earnings news remained broadly positive.

With the ASX 200 now trading above levels implied by at least two previously stated year-end forecasts from market strategists, analysts have begun flagging a more complex outlook heading into the second half of the year, noting that earnings expectations for sectors outside of mining and banking have started to tighten even as those two dominant sectors have continued to anchor the index’s overall performance. Wood Mackenzie separately forecast that continued turbulence in Middle East oil markets could help lift global upstream oil and gas free cash flow to $495 billion in 2026, provided Brent crude prices average around $90 per barrel over the course of the year, underscoring how closely tied energy sector earnings outlooks remain to the trajectory of the ongoing geopolitical situation.

With a busy stretch of corporate earnings and economic data still ahead, investors are likely to watch closely whether the current wave of positive momentum from U.S. technology stocks can be sustained into the new trading week, particularly as questions persist about bond yield pressure, energy price volatility and the durability of the artificial intelligence-driven rally that powered Thursday night’s rebound on Wall Street.

The cash-strapped transport hub continues to struggle financially

The prospect of Newquay Airport ever becoming financially self-sufficient without the backing of Cornish taxpayers remains a distant reality. That was the stark message delivered at Cornwall Council meetings this week.

Having agreed to prop up the airport’s operations to the tune of more than £5.8m over the coming year, Cornwall councillors have been exploring the possibility of reintroducing a passenger levy to boost income.

Newquay Airport previously operated a levy known as the Airport Development Fee (ADF), a £5 charge applied to departing passengers aged 16 and over. Cornwall Council officially axed the contentious charge a decade later in March 2016 in a bid to drive passenger growth and attract new airline routes.

Meetings of Cornwall Council’s corporate finance scrutiny committee and its Liberal Democrat/Independent cabinet heard this week that the airport – which has perpetually struggled to turn a profit – is facing mounting pressure following the collapse of Eastern Airways and the council’s decision to scrap the subsidised Public Service Obligation (PSO) route to London Gatwick earlier this year.

In response, Corserv – the council-owned company that operates the airport – is set to unveil a transformation plan later this year. Alongside the commercial development of the surrounding airport estate, this could involve introducing alternative revenue streams such as drone operations, defence contracts and an expanded offering at Spaceport Cornwall, which is situated at the airport.

Corserv chief executive Neil Edmond told the finance scrutiny committee this week the airport requires more than a million passengers a year to cover its operating costs – a figure that will realistically never be achieved given its geographical location.

The committee was informed that the airport will be unable to function without financial support for at least the next four to five years, although it was hoped this reliance on subsidy could be reduced over time.

Cllr Rowland O’Connor voiced concerns that every single day the airport remains operational it is heaping further financial pressure on other areas of the council. He also highlighted the suspension of capital maintenance at the airport, which has been deferred for a year.

“It is absolutely amazing that we are deferring routine maintenance. From an outsider in, I’d be asking what safety implications does that have,” he said.

As part of its recommendations to cabinet, the committee called on the administration to “urgently reviews an airport passenger fee to maximise income”.

Council leader Cllr Leigh Frost confirmed it was something his cabinet would “absolutely look at”.

Cllr Martyn Alvey urged restraint, noting that the previous Conservative administration – of which he was a member – had considered reintroducing a passenger levy but “kicked it into touch” after concluding it was not a viable option.