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Farmland For Sale Falls By A Massive 67% – As Prices Rise
By Exeter Express and Echo | Posted: October 25, 2013 The value of farmland in the South West continues to rise, as the amount coming onto the market goes on falling. In the first nine months of this year the price of prime land in the region rose by 2% to £7,600 an acre – according to data collected for the farmland value survey run by estate agents Savills. Penny Dart, of Savills’ Exeter office, explained: “Across the South West during the first three-quarters of 2013 the volume of farmland publicly marketed decreased by 4% when compared to the same period in 2012. “The South West accounted for 18% of all farmland marketed in England. In the region 15,081 acres of farmland was publicly marketed, compared with 15,745 acres to the end of September in 2012, a decrease of 4%.” Mrs Dart said Somerset recorded the steepest fall in the amount of farmland coming onto the market, a massive 67% down on the year to just 1,492 acres. Devon also recorded a significant drop of 30%, while in Cornwall the drop was just 4%. It was a different picture elsewhere in the South West region, with Gloucestershire almost doubling the amount of land marketed, with an enormous increase of 84% in Dorset and 37% in Wiltshire. But Devon still accounted for nearly a fifth of all the farmland marketed in the region. Wiltshire, with its extensive grain-growing acreage, accounted for nearly a third. Mrs Dart explained that an analysis of the farm transactions carried out by Savills throughout Great Britain in the first half of this year showed that farmer buyers made up half of all purchasers. This was similar to the situation in 2012. “Farm expansion continued to be the prime motive for buying, and was cited by the majority of farmer buyers,” she said. But the proportion of lifestyle buyers rose very considerably, to 40%, the highest level since 2004. She said their primary motive was not income generation from farming. “Of these buyers there was an almost equal split between those who already owned farmland and those who were purchasing for the first time. “Buying for residential or sporting reasons was also a significant motive.” While the average value of prime land was now £7,600, third-grade arable land now averaged £6,150 an acre. The average value of prime dairy land had risen by nearly 2% to £6,690, while third-grade dairy land was £5,760. Poor livestock grazing was £4,600 an acre. Read more: http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Farmland-sale-falls-massive-67-8211-prices-rise/story-19984687-detail/story.html#ixzz2ikAHWF7F Continue reading
Insight Adds To Farmland Flock
Insight adds to farmland flock Sarah Krouse 24 Oct 2013 Insight Investment has added a new farmland investment role to its team of experts in the sector, amid increased investor interest in farm assets. Insight adds to farmland flockThe asset manager has hired the former chief executive of farm investor NZ Farming Systems Uruguay to the newly created role of head of farmland management to help oversee its growing portfolio. David Beca will join later this year and be based out of London. Beca joins an eight-member team that works on farmland investments at Insight and will be responsible for overseeing the on-the-ground management of its farmland assets. The expansion of the investment team comes amid strong returns from rural land in the UK and globally. Beca has worked in a number of markets including Australia, Uruguay and South Africa for farmland investment, consulting and business analysis companies. Insight began its farmland strategy in 2011. The firm’s portfolio of investments includes a New Zealand dairy farm, a cattle station in northern Australia and arable farm assets in Romania. Other members of the team specialise in topics such as livestock and arable land and are based in a number of locations including Australia and Germany. Insight’s expansion of the team comes as it attempts to take advantage of increased investor interest in the asset class. The sector is touted as an attractive option for investors looking to diversify and boasts stronger returns than commercial property. Rural land in the UK, for example, has significantly outperformed commercial property in the country over the last five, 10 and 20 years, according to analytics firm Investment Property Databank. Rural land returned 8.9% compared with 0.7% for all property over five years; 13.2% compared with 6.3% property-wide over 10 years; and 13% compared with 8.9% for all property assets over 20 years. Beca will report to Martin Davies, head of farmland investments at Insight. Within the firm, the farmland investment team sits under specialist investments, a unit led by Reza Vishkai, who joined the firm in 2005. Beca said in a statement: “The development Continue reading
Stobart Wheels Out Biomass Strategy
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7a76c7a0-3cbc-11e3-86ef-00144feab7de.html#ixzz2ijzRsktZ October 24, 2013 9:04 pm Stobart wheels out biomass strategy By Thomas Hale Trains, planes and biomass are now Stobart Group’s priorities, as the high-profile haulage company attempts to streamline its business, and move past a period of boardroom instability. Andrew Tinkler, Stobart’s chief executive, said on Thursday that the group made famous by its fleet of green long-distance lorries would be focusing on the “two growth areas of biomass and airports”, under a simplification of the four-year growth plan it implemented in 2011. Stobart had been seeking to diversify its revenue streams away from road haulage through acquisitions, which have included a property portfolio and a civil engineering business. However, with more than 90 per cent of revenues still coming from transport, Iain Ferguson, the group’s new chairman, has announced a focus on businesses that are capable of delivering significant growth. Presenting the company’s half-year results, he said his aim was to “build out the airport, build out the biomass, and make sure that they also grow organically”. Mr Ferguson joined Stobart on October 1 after a litany of management and corporate governance problems earlier in 2013. In April, Avril Palmer-Baunack was ousted by a boardroom coup after only three months in the role. Ms Palmer-Baunack’s appointment had been supported by Invesco Perpetual fund manager Neil Woodford, who held a 37 per cent stake in the company. But other shareholders opposed Ms Baunack’s attempts to sell off assets and focus solely on the haulage business. Mr Ferguson said he also has Mr Woodford’s support, but emphasised that Stobart’s future growth would not be delivered by road alone. Stobart is on a “relentless quest for innovation”, he said. Ben Whawell, finance director, forecast that investments in biomass, planes and trains – which are almost complete – would begin to pay off in coming years, contributing to increased revenues and “a lot more to profitability”. “In three to four years’ time, half our profits may come from biomass,” he said. Biomass, which involves burning waste wood for energy, is already Stobart’s second largest contributor of revenues after transport. In the six months to August 31, biomass tonnage reached 345,000 – a 52 per cent rise on the same period last year. Investment in air transport is also paying off. After acquiring Southend Airport in 2008 for £21m, the company has invested a total of £140m in the facility, and in the last half-year period passenger numbers rose 43 per cent to 528,000 – helping Stobart’s air division turn a loss into a small profit. As a group, Stobart – which employs more than 1,000 staff – reported revenues of £330m for the six months to August 31, up from £247m in the same period last year. Pre-tax profit fell slightly, to £10.4m, mainly due to high operating costs and the discontinuation of a business providing transport pallets for chilled goods. Stobart shares rose 0.7 per cent to 130.5p on Thursday. Continue reading
