Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Land values remained on solid ground despite pandemic

GOLDEN ACRES: Savills shows the average price of prime arable land at £7,936 an acre.
GOLDEN ACRES: Savills shows the average price of prime arable land at £7,936 an acre.

Farmland prices remained resilient in 2020 despite the Covid-19 crisis, claims Savills.

Figures from the land agency reveal the average value across all land classes in Scotland was up marginally to £4,308 per acre in the 12 months to December 2020.

It said a 17.5% increase in the value of upland farms was the main driver for the overall increase.

The average price of prime arable land held steady at £7,936 and the survey, which tracks sales of more than 50 acres, revealed the supply of publicly marketed farmland was down 57% on the five-year average to a record low of 17,600 acres.

“While the combination of Brexit, agricultural policy reform and the Covid-19 pandemic weighed heavily on farmers the length and breadth of the UK, the Scottish farmland market showed considerable resilience throughout 2020, demonstrated by strong sales and with average land values, for all land types, being upheld,” said Evelyn Channing, head of rural agency for Savills in Scotland.

She said a limited supply and a diverse pool of buyers helped maintain prices last year and strong interest from potential buyers should ensure prices stay firm in 2021.

“Whilst it is difficult to predict where land values will go in the longer term, it is clear that competitive closing dates and premiums are both features likely to be seen for best-in-class properties, smaller farms of residential and amenity appeal and tree planting land,” said Ms Channing.

“The majority of our commercial farm sales in 2020 were driven by the desire to expand. However, until such time as greater clarity is given on the future policy framework, farmers are likely to be selective with any purchases unless stimulated by golden opportunities which may present themselves.”

She added: “While our researchers are not anticipating a repeat of the significant price increase recorded in the decade to 2014, we do expect a return to historical real-term growth of just over 1% per annum in the medium to long term.”