Call to delay £67m Tulchan Estate sale over tenant rights

The Scottish Tenant Farmers Association has called for the sale of the 8,800ha Tulchan Estate in Moray to be delayed as tenants say they were denied their legal pre-emptive right to buy.

The estate, which includes five tenanted farms, is being marketed through a transfer of company shares rather than a direct land sale, with offers sought above £67m.

The estimated sale price in 2017 was £26m.

See also: Land market in 2025: Scotland

According to the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association (STFA), structuring the transaction as a share sale allows the owners to avoid legal provisions that give tenant farmers in Scotland the pre-emptive right to buy when agricultural land is sold.

The association also says these arrangements can affect tax liabilities when shares are held offshore.

STFA chairman Christopher Nicholson said the issue had wider implications beyond tenants.

“This is a significant loophole which needs to be addressed, not just for the farm tenants and communities denied their pre-emptive rights, but also for Scottish and UK taxpayers who are funding the tax avoidance,” he said.

“With the shares of Tulchan Estate Company held offshore in Guernsey, the seller will avoid a HMRC capital gains tax liability of over £10m, if sold for £67m, and the buyer will not incur any land and building transaction tax.”

First refusal 

For many years, the STFA has raised the issue with the government.

It argues that when farmland is owned by a company, sellers can legally avoid offering tenants first refusal by transferring shares rather than the land itself.

The Scottish government’s review of agricultural holdings legislation in 2015 recommended further consideration of allowing tenants to exercise their pre-emptive rights when company shareholdings are transferred instead of land.

A share sale may also bypass community pre-emptive rights and notification provisions introduced under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025.

Share transfer 

Ownership of the company’s shares has been reported to have changed several times, most recently in 2017, when they were transferred via a sale handled by Savills to a company registered in Guernsey.

The beneficial owner of the estate is difficult to trace due to the offshore structure, but is presumed by the STFA to be Russian-born billionaire Yuri Shefler.

Savills describes Tulchan as a diversified rural enterprise spanning farming, hospitality, property and environmental projects.

The estate includes Tulchan Lodge, two driven grouse moors, salmon fishing on the River Spey, and 28 residential properties, alongside woodland, peatland restoration and other biodiversity initiatives.

Savills has been approached for comment.