Major farms and prime arable land hit the market
The UK land market sees several significant launches this week with substantial blocks of prime arable land and whole farms coming to the market.
See also: Farms and bare land launch from Northumberland to Devon
Flexible farm
Wylye Down Farm © Savills
Wylye Down Farm near Salisbury, with 645 acres of arable land, 151 acres of permanent pasture and 81 acres of woodland, will tick the boxes for many buyers, says Geoff Jones of selling agent Savills.
“It offers flexibility and strong potential for a range of purchasers,” he says.
The land is farmed under a contract farming agreement, growing wheat, barley, oilseed rape, beans and maize on the arable acreage and permanent pasture on steeper banks and valleys.
The buyer will be required to take on existing environmental agreements including one for the Higher Tier Countryside Stewardship scheme, which ends in December 2032, and Sustainable Farming Incentive contracts.
Wylye Down Farm comes with a range of buildings currently used for silage and general farm storage. It is for sale as a whole at a guide price of £8.25m.
Prime arable land
The Brooms © GSC Grays
Another substantial block of mostly prime arable land, again with buildings, is being launched in North Yorkshire.
The 599 acres of land at The Brooms, near Bladersby St James, Thirsk, is mostly Grade 2 and capable of growing high-yielding arable crops, potatoes and other root crops, with irrigation from the River Swale and a borehole.
A central grain store with capacity for up to 4,000t and an associated drying facility are topped with a 138kWh solar array that has a commercial export agreement and Feed-in Tariff generating an annual income ranging from £18,000-£40,000.
Planning consent has been secured for a 1,085sq m general-purpose machinery and storage shed.
John Coleman, head of farm agency at selling agent GSC Grays, says opportunities of this scale rarely come to the market in this part of the country.
The Brooms is offered for sale at a guide price of £7.2m and is lotted six ways too.
Exmoor holding
Benshayes Farm © Savills
With 213 acres, Benshayes Farm on the edge of Exmoor National Park has come to the market for the first time in 136 years.
Owned by same family since 1890, the farm near Bampton has had a colourful history as home to Second World War evacuees, as a principal filming location for the BBC drama Land Girls, and as a site for a racehorse training business.
During that time the 144 acres of pasture have mostly been farmed with sheep.
Benshayes Farm also has 61 acres of mixed amenity woodland, wildlife‑rich habitats and ponds, and areas that support a private pheasant shoot.
Modern agricultural buildings include a general‑purpose store with a roof‑mounted solar PV array.
As well as a 17th-century Grade II listed farmhouse there are two dwellings and traditional barns with planning consent for multiple properties.
Robin Fern of selling agent Savills describes the sale as a “rare and exciting opportunity to acquire a much-loved family farm estate of considerable beauty, character and versatility”.
Benshayes Farm is guided at £3.4m and is also offered for sale as three lots.
Northern gem
Whiley Hill Farm © GSC Grays
In the North of England, GSC Grays is launching a County Durham farm that has been in the same family for an even longer period.
Whiley Hill Farm near Coatham Mundeville, a 129-acre mixed-use farm with arable land and grassland, has been farmed by six generations of the family since 1850.
The farm is entered into a Mid Tier Countryside Stewardship agreement, due to end on 31 December 2027, which the buyer will have to take on.
The scheme is based on the management of low-input grassland and hedgerows, and the maintenance of weatherproof farm buildings. A capital grant has been secured to plant 100m of hedgerows.
The sale includes modern and traditional farm buildings, a stone-built farmhouse and a bungalow.
A national renewables energy company has expressed an interest in developing a solar farm on the land.
This sale is subject to an overage agreement which would entitle the sellers and their successors to 35% of the uplift in value from the farm’s current use for 35 years.
GSC Grays is launching Whiley Hill Farm at a guide price of £1.8m.
