Sporting estates still top of their game
“Agents which have experts in diverse fields can help owners take a lateral look at how best to bring in an income”
HUGH MACLEAN
BELL INGRAM
Earlier this year what is believed to be Scotland’s most expensive sporting estate, Tulchan, was sold for £25 million.
The 21,000-acre property 40 miles south of Inverness, which boasts some of the best salmon fishing in Europe, was snapped up by Yuri Shefler, a Russian vodka billionaire.
But while a good Scottish sporting estate might rank alongside a London mansion and a mega yacht in Cannes as a status symbol, can they be considered a good investment for those without unlimited wealth?
Luke French, associate director of farms and estates at Savills, says: “It depends on the estate. Certainly there should be capital appreciation and although they are rarely bought to provide income, owners can achieve a profit, particularly if there is a renewable element in the form of a wind farm or hydro, or tracts of forestry.”
While French believes such properties are usually bought with the heart rather than the head, he says of the sales market: “There is still good demand for sporting estates from across the UK and beyond.”
Although the key to attracting the widest interest from buyers is for an estate to offer a variety of field sports, outdoor pursuits, landscapes and terrain and opportunities for income, French says that the trophy estates will always contain two crucial elements.
“An estate with both a grouse moor and a salmon river will be the most desirable and achieve the highest prices.”
He points to Barvas, which Savills has just brought to the market.
The estate, on the isle of Lewis, has first-class salmon and trout fishing on two rivers and a variety of terrain including a walk-up grouse moor.
There are also three houses sleeping a total of 16 and French says: “The (main) lodge lends itself as much to big family summer holidays as it does to keen sporting parties.”
While the market for such properties is limited, interest will come from many different corners.
Barvas is priced at £850,000 and French says such prop- erties are often a consideration for a syndicate of buyers; friends or family who will divide up the weeks available and share running costs.
“Being one of the owners rather than the sole owner makes it much more affordable, obviously, but you still get the benefits with a fraction of the costs and most buyers would not consider being in residence year round.”
Many owners of this type of estate would also be looking to offset running costs by letting parts of it when not in use.
Either shooting, grazing or letting the individual properties could all provide income and if owners take only a fraction of the available popular weeks, the return can cover running costs and more.
Hugh Maclean, associate in rural land management at Bell Ingram, agrees that the best way to offset costs can be to diversify.
He says: “Agents which have experts in diverse fields such as renewables or tourism for example can help owners take a lateral look at how best to bring in an income.
“There are also funding streams to investigate and although it can be tough to make a profit, thinking outside the box and looking to make an estate run more efficiently can make a huge difference in terms of costs.”