Land agent unable to play the name game

With Strutt & Parker (Farms) up for sale, Rupert Bates is somewhat surprised to see the name of the selling agent

So, for the first time in a hundred years Strutt & Parker (Farms) hits the market. Surely family loyalty means Strutt & Parker got the instruction? Actually, no, arch-rival Savills is the selling agent.

To be fair, land agency Strutt & Parker and the multi-asset rural property company known as Strutt & Parker (Farms) Ltd are totally separate businesses and always have been. But it must still surely ruffle the tweed of the Strutts hierarchy, who in turn are now under the wing of BNP Paribas Real Estate.

It was 1885 when Edward Strutt and Charles Parker started the eponymous land agency, while also buying and renting land themselves before setting up the farms company as a separate entity in 1918. on incorporation, the company owned 7,000 acres and rented a further 850 in Essex and Suffolk, the land costing £10.69 per acre.

Now the East Anglian portfolio – a mix of rural, residential and commercial – is one of the largest agricultural businesses in the UK. It is also into renewable energy to the tune of £7.6 million in revenue, including anaerobic digestion plants, and they also own a natural woodland burial site. You wouldn’t want to get those mixed up.

The portfolio should generate around £21 million this year and the shareholders want to sell the business as a single share transaction and going concern, with the company sale being managed by Savills and Deloitte.

Most of the farmland, both freehold and leasehold and running to more than 30,000 acres, is classified Grade 2 and 3, while the residential portfolio is 121 freehold properties of various types and tenures with the gross rent roll exceeding £1 million. Throw in the commercial stuff and that is roughly another £850,000 of annual rent.

“Growing regional and global demographics coupled with climate change are driving the need for greater food production, as well as increasing the demand for housing and other facilities in the south,” says Alex Lawson of Savills.

“Having evolved during the past 100 years into the company it is today, Strutt & Parker (Farms) is in an exceptional position to further transform, increase revenue and capital appreciation.”

David Jones of Deloitte expects interest, due to the scale and diverse asset base of the business, from wealthy investors from both the UK and overseas, as well as institutions looking for long-term, asset-backed, blue-chip investments generating a positive yield, as well as property companies in search of a secure, long-term investment with growth opportunities.

As it is a company sale no guide price has been published, but sources suggest a figure north of £200 million. All very exciting, but how it must grate with Strutt & Parker not to be involved. or maybe they’ll find the buyer.