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Scotland is one of the world’s last true
wildernesses where individuals from home or abroad can still realise
their dream and acquire large tracts of sporting and amenity land
without regulation.
Scotland as a whole, and particularly Perthshire and the Highlands,
has a huge amount to offer. Inverness, the capital of the Highlands,
has recently been bestowed city status and is reputedly Europe’s
fastest growing city. With a population of around 70,000, Inverness
lies at the mouth of the Moray Firth and is the centre of the huge
tract of land comprising the Highlands & Islands. With all the
facilities of a modern European city, Inverness is a vibrant
accessible town, situated in some of Britain’s most beautiful
unspoilt countryside.
Perthshire is another region offering amazing scenery, with dramatic
lochs, heather-clad hills and fine houses and castles, all within an
hour and a half of Edinburgh or Glasgow Airport. Demand for rural
property in Perthshire is always high and premium prices must be
paid to secure property here.
Be your interests fishing, shooting, walking or golf, or simply to
identify an ideal environment to raise your family in an
increasingly uncertain world, Scotland has the best to offer. As an
investment, owning Scottish property, particularly a quality
sporting or residential property, has generally proved very
rewarding with significant long term capital gain being achieved in
many cases. Of late, such property investments have proved safer and
considerably more rewarding than many other investments. As these
properties are in short supply, they will continue to prove a sound
investment in years to come.
What should you look for in the perfect
sporting estate?
Grouse shooting is arguably the highlight in the sporting
enthusiast’s diary and the demand for good quality driven grouse
shooting is currently insatiable. These are truly wild birds which
are not reared or released and which prove the most testing of
sport. 2003 is in some areas proving to be an excellent season.
A day’s driven grouse shooting with a bag of, say, 100 brace between
nine guns will cost around £10,000 plus VAT. Both Inverness-shire
and Perthshire boast some of Scotland’s finest grouse moors. To buy
a grouse moor, shooting on average some 700 brace a year, will cost
in today’s market around £2-£2.5 million. The cost of the lodge, the
principal estate house and cottages will be an additional sum.
Deer stalking, particularly for stags, is also very popular. A
lovely day on the hill tops with wonderful unspoilt views in the
company of a knowledgeable stalker gives you not only a great
appetite for that evening’s dinner but the chance to participate in
the King of Sports, a tradition dating back to the Victorian era. A
day’s stalking can cost up to £300 – a lot cheaper than grouse
shooting – and usually involves a lot more exercise! A dream deer
forest with a sporting cull of say 60 stags will cost around £2
million. Again, this does not include the cost of the lodge or
houses.
Salmon fishing on one of our fast, clear-flowing Northern rivers,
such as the Oykel, the Helmsdale or the Carron, or, by contrast, on
the mighty Spey or the renowned River Tay in Perthshire, can be
exhilarating. The chance to catch a wild Atlantic salmon is an
experience you are unlikely to forget. If you want to buy a stretch
of prime salmon fishing, you will have to pay between £5,000 and
£7,500 per fish caught on an average annual basis.
However, an all round Sporting Estate with a nice spacious and
comfortable house for your guests to stay in, with perhaps a stretch
of fishing, a small family shoot, and some hill ground, is generally
the type of property for which there is most demand. This kind of
mixed estate offers recreation at all times of the year, and as such
is a retreat from the busy burden of city life, be it for a weekend
or a month – or even a lifetime. This is arguably the perfect
sporting estate. These properties do become available but they are
generally in great demand and tend to command a premium.
How have recent events changed matters?
The establishment of our own Scottish Parliament in Holyrood, with
its elected executive and considerable power has played a major part
in the Scottish sporting estate market. Sweeping land reforms have
been invoked, which include giving local communities the right to
buy in certain conditions. These rights may even be further
extended. Increased public access to the countryside, a ban on
hunting with dogs and other political changes have altered the
outlook for the traditional Scottish estate forever.
In future there will be a two-tier market for Scottish estates.
Properties without these complications will be in greater demand
than before. ‘Complications’ means interest from the general public,
or agricultural tenants, who are to be given greater powers
following the recent Scottish Agricultural Act, or crofters, a type
of tenure peculiar only to Scotland, who are again in a stronger
position due to the legislation. Estates with such issues may well
prove more difficult to sell.
CKD Galbraith is a national property consultancy with detailed local
expertise. Since the beginning of 2003 CKD Galbraith has handled the
sale of five major Scottish Estates.
Perhaps two of the most spectacular are the Inverbroom Estate, near
Ullapool and the Alladale Estate, near Ardgay in Ross-shire, about
50 miles north of Inverness.
Inverbroom, a classic Highland sporting estate extending to about
19,300 acres was offered for sale in the early summer.
Lying at the head of Loch Broom, a sea loch, in the spectacular west
coast setting, it includes exceptional red deer stalking with an
average cull of 33 stags, salmon and sea trout fishing on the River
Broom with about 20 salmon and 10 sea trout caught annually, a nine
bedroom lodge and 16 houses and cottages. Together with some 330
acres of farmland and about 200 of woodland this delightful property
was sold to a British buyer for over the £2.5 million guide price.
The Alladale Estate was the jewel in the crown of Scottish sporting
estates sold this year. Extending to 23,000 acres, this renowned
property is set in some of the most magnificent Highland scenery.
The deer stalking is unrivalled with 106 stag and some 275 hinds
being shot annually. There is both salmon and trout fishing and some
enjoyable grouse and ptarmigan shooting.
Alladale Lodge is in immaculate condition and has nine bedrooms,
whilst Deanich situated some five miles into the hills has five
bedrooms. The estate includes a recently constructed keeper’s house
and has about 815 acres of native woodland under management, and
significant areas of long established native woodland. Alladale was
again bought by a British family trust for over the £3.25 million
guide price.
Both of these estates are examples of great sporting properties and
are the type of property that will remain in keen demand and
continue to command premium prices.
Author is John Bound FRICS, a partner in the Inverness office of
CKD Galbraith; a Scottish firm of Chartered Surveyors which
specialises in buying and selling sporting estates and property.
Tel: 01463 224343.
E-mail:
john.bound@ckdgalbraith.co.uk
The firm also has a sporting and holiday letting department based in
Perth.
Tel: 01738 451600.
Website:
www.ckdgalbraith.co.uk |