Land market heats up and goes big

The UK land market burst into life this week, with more than 4,800 acres going up for sale across England and Scotland.

A mix of quality arable land and large beef and sheep enterprises have been launched, offering significant investment and expansion opportunities.  

Lincolnshire

Leading the way is Holbeach St Marks in South Holland, with 2,068 acres of Grade 1 silt soils currently cropped to cereals, sugar beat, onions, potatoes, peas and brassicas

James Brooke of Bidwells said that the £30m guide price reflected not only the quality of the land but also the farm’s extensive range of modern buildings. These included a new onion grading line with cooling and drying facilities and controlled-atmosphere potato storage.

The sellers are willing to continue to farm the land on a farm business tenancy (FBT) or contract farming agreement and have also drawn up plans for field irrigation, which would allow for further crop diversification.

Weather monitoring to assess the potential for a five-turbine wind farm is under way and a nearby food factory could be a willing partner for an anaerobic digestion plant.

The land could also be lotted if local farmers just want to buy productive land, said Mr Brooke.

A farmhouse with no agricultural occupancy restriction and five further dwellings, ancillary buildings and modern farm office are included, as are BPS entitlements. (Bidwells 07881 516564)  

A block of 223 acres of arable, 126 acres of permanent pasture and 13 acres of woodland is for sale near Brigg at a guide price of £2.55m.

The land at High Sadney is let on a Farm Business Tenancy, which expires in October 2017. The tenants currently grow oilseed rape on the Grade 3, fine loam over clay soils.

The land is in Entry and Higher Level Stewardship. BPS payments will be claimed by the tenant for the duration of the contract before transferring the entitlements to the buyer. 

(Humberts 020 7594 4746)

Angus

Two mixed farms – both part of the Kinpurnie Estate in Angus – are being relaunched after a bidder failed to complete the purchase of the whole 5,000-acre estate, advertised in 2013. 

The larger of the two farms is Newton near Auchterhouse village, about eight miles north-west of Dundee. It offers 896 acres, seven modern farm buildings and a farmhouse at a guide price of £3m.

The predominantly Grade 3 land is let on short-term grazing and cropping licences, which will expire with the sale, with about 358 acres currently in arable.

Part of the farm is designated within the Less Favoured Area and there are land management options, which will stay in place until the end of 2015. BPS entitlements are available by separate negotiation and there is planning consent to convert two dwellings into holiday lets.

The slightly smaller Easter and Wester Keith Farm, near Lundie, has been let to local farmers, with much of the land in vegetable production in recent years.

Its 783 acres comes with a traditional steading including a steel-framed cattle court, farmhouse and  cottage at offers over £2.8m for the whole or in three lots.

The farm has 261 acres of arable land, 164 acres of permanent pasture, 67 acres of rough grazing, 185 acres of hill land and 100 acres of woodland. BPS entitlements are excluded.

(Savills/CKD Galbraith 0131 247 3720)

Cumbria

A 427-acre beef and sheep farm in the heart of the Lake District is being heavily lotted for sale.

Parcels range from 17 acres to 103 acres at Moorend Farm, near Matterdale.

Three of the lots as a whole would offer 171 acres of grazing ground, the farmhouse and two modern livestock buildings at a guide price of £1m.

Nine years remain on the farm’s Entry Level Stewardship and Higher Level Stewardship agreements. BPS entitlements are included.

(H&H 01228 406260)

Essex

About 285 acres of arable land at Armigers Farm near Thaxted is for sale at a guide price of £2.65m.

It is made up of three main field enclosures with good access for modern machinery.

The Grade 3 slowly permeable calcareous clay soils are well suited to growing a range of arable crops, but the land is put to maize for 2015.

An FBT is in place until September 2018 with an annual rent of £58,000 and the tenants retaining BPS payments.

 (Humberts 020 7594 4746)

Suffolk

Grade 2 arable land, also being farmed under an FBT, is for sale near Saxmundham in Suffolk at a guide price of £2.5m.

Around 278 acres is divided into a small number of level enclosures.

The land at Manor Farm is cropped to oilseed rape and winter wheat on a mix of chalky and deep sandy soils. The land also has a good number of internal drainage ditches.

The FBT expires in September when BPS entitlements will be transferred to the buyer.

(Humberts 020 7594 4746)