RASE strikes £50m Stoneleigh deal

The Royal Agricultural Society of England has secured a £50m investment deal which it claims will safeguard the future of Stoneleigh Park as a centre of rural excellence.

Under the agreement announced today, property specialist LaSalle Investment Management will take over responsibility for the management and development of the 1000-acre site, which includes the 250-acre showground and surrounding farmland.

The collaboration with LaSalle is centred on a 150-year lease, providing a much-needed, though undisclosed, financial boost to the RASE. The society will also earn a dividend from partnership profits as development takes place, and will continue to earn money from its own events and membership activities.

The RASE has always struggled to realise its vision of developing Stoneleigh as a showcase for English agriculture and rural life.

Over the past few years the society has spent large sums of money assessing the viability of various schemes, fuelling criticism that it had lost sight of its original purpose, to support farming and the rural industries by spreading information about the best in research, development and practice.

That concern was compounded by the eventual closure of the Royal Show in 2009 and, more recently, the cancellation of the AgriLive Smithfield event last autumn.

RASE chairman Henry Cator believes the new deal will allow the RASE to refocus on its core aim, and fulfil the vision for Stoneleigh Park. LaSalle shared the values and ethos of the society and would commit long-term investment into the estate, he said.

Any development on the site would continue to be related to agriculture and wider rural activities, so fears that the site would be buried under large-scale housing projects were unfounded, he added.

“We are confident that Stoneleigh Park will be developed to become the national hub for agricultural, equine and rural business, research and knowledge exchange.

“With a commitment to invest £20m by the end of 2012, and up to £50m by 2020, this is a hugely exciting time for the site, the RASE, Stoneleigh Park and the local economy,” Mr Cator said.

Andrew Bull, European director of LaSalle, a global company managing about £26bn of property investment, said he wanted Stoneleigh to be at the forefront of a rural renaissance in the UK.

“It has the strong potential to be the hub and showcase for farming’s future,” he said.