Retirement brings more farms to market

A mix of farms is being launched across England, Wales and Scotland, with retirement the principal reason for many of these sales.

Labdon Farm, a ring-fenced grassland and arable holding, is coming to the market in Wembworthy, Chulmleigh, as the owners seek to exit farming.

At 276 acres, it is rare that a farm of this size comes to the market in mid-Devon, according to selling agent Stags.

The farm, originally part of the Earl of Portsmouth’s estate, has a centrally positioned farmstead and Grade 3 land with a mixture of free-draining, acid loamy soils over rock and free-draining, slightly acid loamy soils.

About 218 acres are actively farmed, the rest of the farm is planted with broadleaf woodland.

See also: Buoyant demand for well-equipped dairy farms

There is a four-bedroom stone farmhouse and diversification revenue is generated by two semi-detached holiday cottages.

Northumberland National Park

Retirement also brings a 737-acre upland holding at Rochester, near Newcastle upon Tyne, to the market.

Offers of more than £2.1m are sought for Woolaw Farm, on the banks of the River Rede in the Northumberland National Park.

Woolaw Farm © Galbraith

This includes a range of farm buildings across two steadings, a six-bedroom farmhouse and a two-bedroom bungalow currently let on an assured shorthold tenancy.

Some 72 acres produces good-quality silage and grazing. Most of the remaining acreage is upland grazing, plus 58 acres of permanent pasture and 11 acres of woodland pasture.

There is scope for more tree planting, subject to approval, and potential to create a rough shoot on part of the land, says Will Blair, of selling agent Galbraith.

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

A second national park, this time in Wales, sees another summer launch.

Savills is bringing a 103-acre block of coastal land to the market near St Davids in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

Coastal land at St David’s in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park © Savills

This includes a large, general-purpose, open-span building and a mix of arable land, grazing, rough grazing, moorland, habitat areas and pockets of planted woodland.

Daniel Rees, Savills’ head of rural sales in south and west Wales, says the sale offers opportunities for a range of buyers.

“The land would be ideal to add to an existing farming operation, but would also be of interest to land investors looking to add a diverse block of land to their portfolio, or lifestyle purchasers,’’ he says.

Buyers looking for environmental, natural capital, rewilding, ecosystem and conservation opportunities are also likely to be interested in this parcel, which has a guide price of £927,000.

The sale is subject to a 35-year overage clause that requires 40% of any uplift in value on the grant of planning consent for non-agricultural use to be passed to the vendor.

Scottish farm

Savills is also launching a 130-acre farm near Castle Douglas in Dumfries and Galloway.

Formerly part of the Troquain Estate, Scroggie Hall was bought by the current owners in 2000 as part of their retirement plan and they farmed it for the following two decades on biodynamic principles.

Scroggie Hall © Savills

This included producing lamb from a flock of breeding ewes and calves from a beef suckler herd of Belted Galloways, which continue to graze the hill.

The farmland is down to grass save for about 10 acres of woodland. It is classified by the James Hutton Institute as a mixture of 4(2), 5(1) and 5(2), rising from 155m to 242m.

A traditional building next to the farmhouse has full planning permission for alterations and change of use to form additional domestic accommodation. There is also a stone and slate bothy with accommodation.

Farm buildings include an implement shed, a Dutch barn and a pole barn. Savills is seeking offers of more than £750,000 for Scroggie Hall.

Productive livestock farm 

For buyers looking for a well-equipped livestock farm, H&H Land & Estates is launching Crake Scar Farm at Hamsterley near Bishop Auckland, County Durham.

Crake Scar Farm © H&H Land & Estates

This 200-acre grassland farm has extensive modern buildings, including four cattle sheds and two lambing sheds. There are also up-to-date sheep dipping and cattle handling systems.

Tim Sedgewick, director at H&H Land & Estates, describes this as an outstandingly tidy and well-maintained farm with excellent productive land and an exceptional range of buildings.

Crake Scar Farm has a four-bedroom farmhouse and is for sale as a whole or in three lots, with an overall guide price of £1.64m.