Choice of commercial farms on market expands

Top end commercial farms are launching across several counties this month, including a 966-acre prime arable estate in ­Northumberland, with four dwellings and diverse income sources.

The Wark Estate, near Cornhill-on-Tweed, has been owned by the Lovett family for 61 years and managed by trustees since Jennifer Lovett’s death in 2019.

The trustees have decided the estate should now be sold and Savills has launched it at offers above £13.5m.

“This will only be the second time that there has been a change of ownership in over 100 years,” says the firm’s Luke French.

See also: Surge of land and farm launches as spring market picks up

The mostly Grade 2 arable land has been contract farmed since 2003 and those 734 acres are mainly in winter wheat, oilseed rape, vining peas and potatoes, with irrigation in place.

Some 86 acres of permanent grass is let for seasonal grazing, and other features include 77 acres of woodland and two prime salmon beats.

A stewardship agreement generating an annual income of £44,804 runs until 29 February 2028. Two large modern portal framed buildings and traditional buildings support the farming enterprise.

The principal dwelling, Wark House, has six bedrooms and the property has a further three dwellings.

Steward’s Cottage and Shepherd’s Cottage both have two bedrooms and are let on assured shorthold tenancy (AST) agreements, while The Boathouse has three bedrooms and is occupied the estate’s head boatman.

The Wark Estate is for sale as a whole or in up to three lots.

Lincs arable

Glebe Farm © Savills

Another significant launch is under way in Lincolnshire, a 1,300-acre farm owned by a third-generation family business that has decided to sell amid a review of its farming activities.

Glebe Farm, near Belchford, has been farmed by the Smith family for more than 80 years, during which it has grown into a substantial farming operation as AW Smith & Sons.

The third-generation family business has reached a “natural point to evolve again”.

“This reflects a point when different family members are looking to focus on their own farming interests going forward, while ensuring the long-term strength of the business,” says a statement on behalf of the vendor.

The land is principally arable and temporary pasture with small areas of permanent grass and woodland. Two farmyards serving the arable and livestock enterprises include storage for 9,900 tonnes of grain.

The farmhouse has five bedrooms and there is also a three-bedroom cottage let on an AST.

Savills has set a guide price of £14.7m for Glebe Farm.

Shropshire’s Hanley Hall 

Hanley Hall © Carter Jonas

A further two ring-fenced arable farms, each with a substantial farmhouse, are also coming to the market.

Guided at £9m, Hanley Hall in Shropshire offers “both seclusion and excellent functionality”, says Charlene Sussums-Lewis, of selling agent Carter Jonas, combining productive farmland with “heritage, versatility, and operational efficiency”.

The 407-acre property has prime arable land, modern and traditional buildings, and Hanley Hall, itself, a five-bedroom property built in 1802.

The land is under a contract farming agreement until September 2026.

The 385 acres of Grade 2 and 3 arable land suit potatoes, wheat, barley, maize, sugar beet and turnips, irrigated from a farm borehole.

The remainder of the land is permanent pasture, parkland and woodland.

Steel portal frame sheds cover 3,160sq m and there are also traditional stone buildings, some of which are converted – one as a farm office with a one-bedroom flat in the upper storey.

Essex holding

Whitehouse Farm © Ceres Group

A similar-sized farm is being launched in Essex. Whitehouse Farm, near Little Sampford, has 398 acres of mostly Grade 3 arable land, a range of farm buildings, and a Grade II listed five-bedroom farmhouse.

The land is let on a farm business tenancy until Michaelmas 2026 at an annual rent of £51,958. Two grain stores have a combined storage capacity of approximately 1,200t.

One of the buildings is let commercially for secure car storage at an annual rent of £9,054.

Ceres Group is guiding Whitehouse Farm at £4.675m and has also lotted the farm three ways.