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Gloucestershire Business News

EXCLUSIVE: Huge Cotswold estate for sale at £57m

A substantial chunk of Cotswold real estate will go onto the market this week – and it could all be yours if you can match the £57.5m asking price.

Comprising almost 4,000 acres of rural investment, the auction of what looks likely to be Gloucestershire's largest rural retail sale in 2024 will be jointly handled by Savills and agricultural contract managers Bidwells.

The estate is owned by  Farmcare Trading Ltd, a subsidiary of developer Urban&Civic, which is in turn an offshoot of parent company and biomedical research giant The Wellcome Trust.

With 18,000 acres under its stewardship nationally, Farmcare works with contractors to produce arable crops and vegetables for the food service, retail and trade sectors, with on-the-ground management being carried out by intermediary Bidwells.

Farmcare's decision to sell Down Ampney, through rural agents Savills' Cirencester office, was confirmed today to Punchline-Gloucester.com, with the marketing going live on Thursday.

Alex Lawson, Head of Rural Agency at Savills said: "The Down Ampney Estate is one of the most prestigious and largest commercial farming enterprises in the region."

But he added that the estate also comprised a range of other opportunities: "It offers considerable secure and diverse income streams and potential for growth in the near future through its minerals assets and future development opportunities."

Roland Bull, Head of Rural Investment at Bidwells, added: "Down Ampney presents a rare opportunity for an investor to secure immediate income derived from let property, farming and minerals, at scale, and with a range of opportunities to add value and deliver environmental outcomes over the longer-term."

Located near Cirencester and the Cotswold Water Park, the sales spec states that this "dynamic and multi-faceted rural investment estate" amounts in total to 3,811 acres.

The details add: "It already has an impressive and diverse income stream from agricultural, minerals, leisure, residential and commercial property. Furthermore, very significant additional enhancements to revenue and capital values have been identified from large scale mineral extraction and development opportunities, plus natural capital and recreation/leisure potential."

As a buying option, Down Ampney is to be offered for sale as a whole or in five lots.

Savills said the uses delineate into:

■ 3,295 acres of farmland which is well laid out for commercial arable farming with good field sizes and extensive road access, soil being classified grade 2 and grade 3, ideally suited to cereals and short term grass.

■ Arable land farmed by Velcourt under Contract Farming Agreement as part of a standard arable rotation, providing ultimate flexibility for future owners.Further, smaller parcels of grass let on short term arrangements. Across the estate are approximately 8,000 tonnes of modern grain storage as well as ranges of modern and traditional farm buildings. Based on comparable rates as a rental equivalent, the farmland could generate circa £430,000 per year.

■ Substantial mineral reserves: extensive sand and gravel deposits are already generating a substantial annual revenue stream of around £400,000, from an operational quarry near Latton Village. This income will significantly increase in the short term, following the recent resolution by Gloucestershire County Council to grant permission for Airfield Quarry. The consented area spans approximately 585 acres, estimated to contain around 6.5m tonnes of sand and gravel, with a gross royalty income of approximately £1,650,000 per annum, index linked, during peak production. Indicative maps based on the British Geological Survey suggest there are very large further reserves of unexhausted mineral reserves across the western and northern parts of the Estate, potentially available for future extraction on the Gloucestershire/Wiltshire county boundary.

■ Residential: the portfolio includes 30 houses and cottages spread throughout the estate, as part of farmsteads and on the outskirts of Down Ampney village. The properties are let on a variety of residential tenancies or are unoccupied, with a current rent roll of over £230,000 per annum.

■ Commercial and leisure: at three main locations, the commercial lets include offices, storage, light industrial uses and even a rally driving school. There are also former gravel lakes generating income from fishing and water sports, plus potential for alternative uses. Currently the combined annual income is more than £100,000pa.

■ Development opportunities: several traditional farmyards, notably Manor Farm, Westfield, Castle Hill and Alex Farm offer promising potential for change of use to residential, commercial, leisure, amenity or equestrian. A former creamery site, with buildings, expansive concrete yards and adjacent land (currently a rally driving centre) has already had keen interest for alternative uses. Owing to their location adjacent to the A419 dual carriageway, other land parcels have potential for further strategic development schemes in the medium to longer term.

■ Environmental uses: within the farmland area are historic meadows and permanent pasture, in addition to which there are 239 acres of mainly broadleaf woodland, about 114 acres of lakes, ponds and streams and even 8 acres of vines. Former aggregate works to the west of the estate, near Cricklade North Meadow National Nature Reserve, have been restored with an environmental focus, including lakes let for recreation and leisure, part of the Cotswold Canal, a stream and water meadows, which are rich in biodiversity, including the rare snakes head fritillary.

Savills and Bidwells are understood to be jointly handling the sales process.

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