Large free-range egg and broiler units set for launch

Two large-scale but very different poultry units are set for launch next week, offering broiler or egg production at similar guide prices.

Sally Farm at Helperby, near York, is billed as a state-of-the-art, 64,000-bird, free-range egg operation.

It has almost 262 acres of land, about one-third of which is used for the poultry enterprise, with the remainder in arable cropping.

See also: Portfolio of northern poultry units set for launch

“This unit was designed as a showcase for their advanced equipment, hence the industry-leading specification, as a benchmark for high-welfare, free-range eggs and was officially opened by Adam Henson in 2018,” said Stewart Hamilton of selling agent George F White, who has set a guide price of £7m.

The holding’s two cottages have planning permission to extend and there are traditional barns with firm potential to convert into four residential units. There is also a modern wooden portal-frame farm building and concrete yard.

The free-range egg production unit was built in late 2018, in an “H” shape with four extensions, each housing 16,000 birds. Ground source heating was added in 2019. Each unit includes feed and egg conveyors and a robotic litter scraper.

Egg packing is highly mechanised and the unit has a sophisticated ventilation system, mains electricity and mains water.

Planning permission was achieved for a further 64,000-bird unit, but this lapsed in 2022.

Lincolnshire broiler unit

Contrasting with Sally Farm is the 500,000-bird broiler unit Willow Wood Farm at East Kirkby in Lincolnshire.

Willow Wood Farm © Carter Jonas

The site is about 13 acres and the poultry houses are portal framed, built in 1999 and 2009. There are ancillary buildings and a modern detached farmhouse with an agricultural tie.

This is a substantial, fully-equipped broiler unit with about 260,000sq ft of growing space and is situated close to poultry processors.  

“This is a fantastic opportunity for established poultry operators who are looking to expand their current business,” says Sam Johnson, associate partner at Carter Jonas, which is marketing the farm.

“Willow Wood is also likely to be of interest to investors as the rental market for well-equipped poultry units is strong, with processors and growers seeking to increase numbers.”

Nine biomass boilers heat the broiler houses and will earn an income of about £174,000 this year from the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive.

Willow Wood Farm is for sale by private treaty as a whole, with a guide price of £6.9m.