Bunch of five farms offers choice under 250 acres

A former dairy farm now generating about £165,000/year in rental income launches for sale this week.

Gearns Farm is set in 220 acres of ring-fenced arable land, pasture and woodland near Holsworthy, Devon.

Rental income is derived from residential lettings and established livestock diversifications, with former dairy buildings converted to accommodate a pig enterprise which is let on a 20-year farm business tenancy (FBT).

See also: Diversified Oxford estate and Caerphilly family farm

A specialist poultry unit, accommodated in a purpose-built steel portal framed building with free-standing steel feed bins, is also let under an FBT.

That unit houses a six-tier colony cage system for 155,000 birds from a day old. These agreements in combination provide an annual rental income of about £140,000.

The Grade 3 and 4 land has predominantly slightly acidic loamy and freely draining soils.

This is mostly down to pasture and farmed in-hand, with free slurry from the pig unit and up to 5cu m of borehole water a day under the terms of the pig unit’s FBT.

A five-bedroom farmhouse and a two-bedroom bungalow are let on common law tenancies, which bring the farm’s total annual rental income to about £165,000.

Carter Jonas is guiding the sale of Gearns Farm at £4m.

Wiltshire ring-fenced farm

Pound Farm © Carter Jonas

The firm is also launching two other ring-fenced farms this week. Pound Farm at Braydon, Swindon, has 208 acres of Grade 3 and 4 land, with its southern boundary formed by the River Key.

An extensive range of traditional and modern farm buildings provide livestock housing and machinery storage, and there is a three-bedroom farmhouse. Pound Farm has a guide price of £2.5m.

North Yorkshire in National Park

Wrench Green Farm © Carter Jonas

In North Yorkshire, 204-acre Wrench Green Farm at Hackness, near Scarborough, is a mixed farm set in the North York Moors National Park.

The land is a mixture of arable, improved grassland, pasture and woodland, with modern farm buildings including a Dutch barn, livestock housing and grain storage.

There are traditional Grade II listed farm buildings and a six-bedroom farmhouse.

The majority of the land is let on an FBT until 30 September 2026 while a small parcel of off-lying improved grassland is let on a grazing licence with vacant possession on completion of the farm’s sale.

The land is entered into a Countryside Stewardship (CS) Mid Tier agreement. 

The sale of Wrench Green Farm is subject to restrictive covenants imposed by the Hackness Estate stipulating that the farm cannot be used for anything other than agriculture, that outbuildings remain as farm buildings, and that no new buildings are erected without the estate’s approval.

The guide price here is £2.375m, and Carter Jonas is also offering the farm in up to four lots.

Devon grassland holdings

Wallen Barton © Stags

In Devon, Wallen Barton near Tiverton has come to the market following the death of its owner.

The 120-acre south-facing grassland farm offers grazing and silage ground, with some fields also suitable for cereals.

The Grade 3 land sits at between 100m and 250m above sea level with soils that are a mixture of slightly acidic loam and clay with impeded drainage and free draining slightly acidic loam.

The land is currently rented out on a grazing licence.

There are some traditional barns and a more extensive range of modern farm buildings, with residential accommodation in a 1939-built farmhouse with four bedrooms.

Stags has set a guide price of £1.75m for Wallen Barton and is offering the sale as three lots too.

Lower Way © Stags

The same firm is also launching 114-acre Lower Way Farm, near Tiverton, at a guide price of £1.735m.

The Grade 3 land has free draining slightly acid loamy soils. The land is used mostly for grazing but some fields are mown for silage and hay.

It is partly within a nitrate vulnerable zone with a CS agreement in place until 31 December 2028.

Modern livestock and machinery sheds support the farming enterprise alongside stone barns suited to conversion, and a four-bedroom stone farmhouse in need of some updating.

Lower Way Farm is for sale as a whole or in three lots.