British-owned company hands over Venezuelan ranches

A British-owned company has agreed to hand over nearly 138,000 acres of cattle-ranching property to the Venezuelan government, which claimed the assets under President Hugo Chavez’s land reform programme.

Under an agreement signed with the government yesterday, Agropecuaria Flora, owned by British Vestey Group, will cede two of its 10 ranches in the country to the state, officials said.