Land in your area 2023: North-west England

The market is more challenging, and it is taking longer to complete a sale, especially by private treaty.

But 2023 is described as a good year for land and farm sales in the North West of England.

Land agents operating in the region say that although higher interest rates are having an impact, serious buyers looking for the right land in the right place are undeterred.

See also: Land in your area 2023: North-east England

While farmland is still attracting a lot of interest and also achieving significant prices, successful sales now rely more on location and neighbours.

Farming at scale

Auctions have highlighted how land and farm sales are being driven by a widespread belief that the future is farming at scale, and by location, with many sales knocked down to neighbouring farmers.

Especially those with the next generation waiting in the wings.

A recent sale of 77.1 acres reflected this very clearly, with all lots sold to local farmers to extend existing enterprises. Bidding pushed the £978,000 guide price to £1.46m – 49% more than the asking price.

The year also demonstrated that family farms will continue to exist and thrive, but only alongside diversification or off-farm working.

We are seeing more land purchased for woodland and biodiversity purposes, with considerable interest from private individuals and those looking to carbon offsetting.

Our prediction for 2024 is that thousands more acres will come forward, and we see no reason why similar price levels should not be maintained.

With the Sustainable Farming Incentive, milk prices improving and input prices softening, we may perhaps see an improvement.

Thomas Armstrong, director, H&H Land & Estates

Support schemes prompt sales

The first three-quarters of 2023 saw a lot more land coming to the market after the government’s farm support schemes were crystallised.

Many of those sales were by older farmers with no successor to take over.

As interest rates crept up, demand eased, certainly for the bigger blocks – in the past we would have seen whole farms or big blocks attracting three or four keen buyers. Now it is one or two.

In the last quarter the market has cooled across the board, whether in the strong dairying regions of Cheshire and Lancashire, or the intensive vegetable growing areas around Ormskirk and Sandbach.

With bigger blocks it has never been more important to price accordingly.

This cautious environment will bring supply back to more traditional levels in 2024, but we expect buyer confidence to pick up, with commodity prices looking stronger.

Meanwhile, non-farming interest in the 10 to 20-acre “pony paddock” type blocks has remained strong, and we anticipate that will continue.

Tony Rimmer, director, Rostons

What’s on the market?

Midtown Farm © H&H Land & Estates

Midtown Farm and associated land in Crosby, Maryport, Cumbria, is described as an excellent stock farm of 113.42 acres. 

It is available as a whole or in four lots, and includes a five-bedroom farmhouse, an attached two-bedroom cottage, and a range of outbuildings.

It is being marketed by H&H Land & Estates at a guide price of £1.75m.

Clays Farm © Rostons

Land at Clays Farm, Calveley, near Tarporley, Cheshire is a 152.78-acre single block of well-drained Grade 3 land, just off the A51 Nantwich Road.

Currently stubble and ploughed ground, all fields have previously grown productive grass and arable crops.

Rostons is seeking offers in the region of £10,000-£12,000/acre.

Farms sold in 2023

Lynefoot Farm © H&H Land & Estates

Lynefoot Farm in Westlinton, Carlisle, is an 117.94 acre former dairy farm, with quality mowing and grazing land. It was marketed with an extensive range of buildings and a four-bedroom farmhouse.

It sold as a whole through H&H Land & Estates to a new entrant farmer for more than the £1.65m guide price.

School Farm © Rostons

School Farm, Hassall, in Sandbach, is an 144-acre livestock farm by Rostons in a sought-after area of Cheshire. It is a prime example of how the right farm will always sell quickly.

It came to the market at £3.25m in May, and sold in September for 20% over the guide price.