Four varied farm launches from Sussex to Aberdeenshire

New launches often tail off in late autumn but there is no pause in the farmland market this week, with options including a substantial block of arable land in Sussex and a similar sized, fully equipped cropping farm in Essex.

Brook Lane Farm at Barnham, West Sussex, is a ring-fenced 285-acre block of mostly Grade 1 cropping land.

A contract farming agreement is in place on the 213 acres of arable land, in a five-year rotation including peas, wheat, oilseed rape and grass.

See also: Launches in Sunderland and Ross-shire offer decent scale farms for sale

The rest of the land, classified as Grade 2 and Grade 3, has been retained in-hand and is mostly in a Countryside Stewardship (CS) scheme agreement featuring winter bird food and nesting areas and several flower margins.

The Lidsey Rife runs along parts of the holding’s southern and eastern boundaries, forming a distinctive landscape and watercourse feature. Savills is guiding the sale at £3.8m.

Equipped Essex holding

Rook End Farm © Cheffins

For buyers in the market for a fully-equipped arable farm, a 233-acre holding with buildings and a farmhouse is being launched at Debden, Saffron Walden.

Rook End Farm has Grade 2 land, buildings with storage, grain handling and general-purpose uses, and a 17th century Grade II listed farmhouse with three bedrooms.

Jonathan Purkiss, director at selling agent Cheffins, describes it as a traditional arable farm of a type that is increasingly hard to find on the open market.

“It combines productive farmland with a traditional farmhouse, offering buyers the opportunity to acquire an established farming operation with the buildings already in place and a proven track record,” he says.

“There is also scope to develop the buildings – the farm is in an idyllic rural setting.”

The sale should appeal to a range of buyers, he believes.

“Demand for farmland remains strong, and I expect Rook End Farm to attract interest from a range of buyers, including local farmers looking to expand their holdings, investors exploring biodiversity net gain opportunities, tax-driven investors.

“And there may also be interest from buyers looking to acquire just part of the farm, perhaps for a smallholding.”

Rook End Farm comes to the market at £3.5m and is also available in four lots.

Cumbria beef and sheep farm

How Gill at Hesket Newmarket © Savills

At 260 acres, How Gill at Hesket Newmarket, Wigton, comes with productive land, modern farm buildings and residential accommodation.

Historically, How Gill has been in milk production but has operated as a beef and sheep unit in recent years.

The arable, meadow and pastureland is mostly set in a ring-fence, serviced by a central access track, and ranges in height from 120m to 170m above sea level.

Mature trees and small woodlands offer shelter and add amenity value.

The land is subject to a Sustainable Farming Incentive agreement, which ends on 31 May 2027 and is non-transferable. A CS agreement runs until 31 December 2026.

An extensive range of modern and traditional farm buildings provide livestock housing and general storage and includes four sheds with cubicles.

There is an above-ground steel slurry store with capacity of 1.14m litres, and two silage clamps measuring 32×10.6m and 30x15m.

The Grade II listed five-bedroom farmhouse has adjoining outbuildings and barns offering potential additional living space, or for conversion to create an annexe or holiday cottage.

The sale includes river frontage and fishing rights.

How Gill is being marketed by Savills at a guide price of £2.25m and is available in four lots.

Aberdeenshire arable land

Land at Kebbaty, Aberdeenshire © Savills

The agent is also launching a 194-acre block of arable land in central Aberdeenshire.

The land at Kebbaty is between 120m and 160m above sea level near the village of Sauchen and is mostly classified as Grade 3.2 with soils that have a history of producing high yields of arable crops.

There is a small acreage of woodland and rough grazing.

Savills is seeking offers over £1.15m and is making the land also available as two sales lots.