Dyson farming empire now worth more than £500m
Britain’s biggest farmer, Sir James Dyson, now sits atop a farming business worth £527m, according to financial information released today.
Beeswax Dyson Farming, the company that controls the domestic appliance magnate’s agricultural interests, crossed the £0.5bn threshold after increasing its net assets in 2018 by £65.7m.
The company spent £60m on additional freehold land and property and £6m on plant, machinery and equipment, according to its annual report filed with Companies House.
See also: 6 things we know about the 2019 land market
Sales of £21.9m were up from £15.7m in 2017, while pre-tax profits rose from £747,000 to £2.6m.
A board report said the company continues to invest in infrastructure to help create a leading agricultural business.
Cropping is being developed to include higher-value crops, such as potatoes.
Sir James’ principal company, Dyson, employs more than 4.500 people in the UK, but its headquarters were moved to Singapore in early 2019, with the company saying that most of its sales and operations were now in that region.