Borders property might hit £4000/acre mark
A 369-acre arable farm in the Scottish Borders will come on to the market next week and could attract a bare land price of more than £4000/acre, according to Charles Dudgeon of selling agents Savills.
Runningburn, at Stichill, near Kelso, which will go on the market at offers over £1.56m, is being sold for family reasons by the McClung family.
The family purchased the farm 20 years ago along with neighbouring Stichill Eastfield, which is being retained.
The sale will free Fraser McClung and his wife Nicola to spend more time on the pedigree livestock side of the business that includes 100 head of Longhorn and Highland cattle.
“We have no plans to move from here,” said Mr McClung.
A further 36 acres of land may be available to rent at Stichill Eastfield, where the McClungs have their family home.
The arable rotation is based around winter wheat (which yielded 3.6t/acre this year), spring barley, set-aside, vining peas and high grade seed potatoes.
The farm, which has superb views of the Cheviot hills, features 23,025 sq ft of buildings, including a modern grain store and 1000t of potato storage.
The unit also features 7500 sq ft of traditional buildings, some in poor repair, but with significant development potential.
The property is being sold subject to a 40% clawback of any uplift in the value if planning permission for development is obtained.
Runningburn has a four-bedroom Georgian farmhouse, which has character and potential, but is in need of modernisation, and has been rented out in recent years.
The sale package also includes four terraced cottages, three of which have been renovated and one in need of upgrade.
“It is so rare to get this type of property in such a desirable farming area where there are so many tenanted farms on large estates.
I’d expect interest to be threefold – from local farmers looking to expand, from Ireland and from high-priced parts of England, Mr Dudgeon said.
“This farm would be ‘manna from heaven’ for a farmer and son looking to stretch from a 150 to 200-acre intensively run farm to closer to 400 acres.”
Arable farm for sale Scotland.