Off-market deals and rollover money key features of the Midlands land market

Rollover buyers who are hungry for farmland continue to be a major influence on the market across the Midlands.

Carter Jonas Associate Partner Ben Ainscough says there are “hotspots” near large towns, cities and development sites where landowners have sold and are looking to reinvest locally.

“Land values across north Warwickshire and west Leicestershire remain very high because of this, and gradually decrease when you move further east,” Ben said.

“That said, there have been fewer farms in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire this year so demand is holding up values in parts of those counties.”

A huge amount of business is being done off market, Ben reports, with buyers and sellers keen to do deals privately.

“We’re selling something privately at the moment and have also been instructed to buy a farm for someone else,” he said.

“Off-market deals are always a feature but, with another lockdown and the logistics of viewing, many are seeing this sale method as a real benefit.
 
“The number of buyers looking in a specific area for a certain farm can be quite small so if you know of one or two strong buyers privately without needing to go to the open market it can be a positive for sellers.”

Ben says farms from 600-1,000 acres in size without a large house or lots of property is particularly sought-after in the region, but he acknowledges that non-agricultural income streams can also catch the eye.

He said: “The more diversification you have the better, but if the buyers have money from development they usually just want more land – that’s top of the list. They can put buildings up themselves and may look for alternative sources of income but are primarily interested in expanding existing farming enterprises, not diversification.

“The changing dynamic coming from Covid-19 is that small farms with barns for conversion for people moving out of London might be appealing at the moment.

“We haven’t really seen many on the market at this scale yet but it will be an interesting test when more volume comes forward for sale.”

Ben expects early 2021 to follow a similar pattern to 2020 with lots of private buyers and sellers active but with publicly marketed land down against the five-year average.

“We’re advising those who are considering selling in 2021 to prepare now and come online in early 2021 to take advantage of the demand for commercial farmland,” he added.

*The header image shows Lawford Lodge near Rugby had 303 acres with a farmhouse, buildings, grain and potato storage and sold well in 2020 in excess of its £4.5m guide price.