Alternative Outlook

A RURAL estate with manor, land and commercial interests would have outperformed antiques, wine, equities, commercial and residential property as an investment over the past year, according to a survey of eight recognised investment assets.

An estate of 3,208 acres would have taken third place in the most worthwhile investments according to the eight categories, behind gold and classic cars, says property consultancy Carter Jonas.

But agricultural land alone, without any other property or commercial diversity, outperformed all ot…

Returns from let farmland and other rural property increased sharply in 2011, outstripping gains from commercial and residential investments and confirming the rural sector’s position as the top-performing UK property asset in recent years.

Figures from the latest IPD Rural Property Investment Index show the sector delivered an overall return of 15.9%, well ahead of the 9% recorded in 2010.

That return was also well above that from commercial property at 7.8% and residential property at 11.3%. Bonds ran a close second to farmland at …

Carter Jonas’s latest performance review of the Model Estate has reinforced its value as, “a high performing and stable asset class during a difficult economic backdrop,” according to the property consultancy’s head of research, Catherine Penman.

The report, prepared by Penman, assesses the value of returns on investment for a notional rural estate of 3,208 acres, and compares the performance of other recognised asset classes – including gold, wine, antiques, classic cars, equities, and commercial and residential property.

With a…

Rising food prices have pushed up the price of arable land in parts of the UK, but life is tougher for livestock farmers.

Agricultural land prices in Britain have hit record levels following the surge in global food prices, according to figures from Savills.

An acre of prime arable land in East Anglia is fetching up to £8,500 compared with around £3,000 in 2005, with demand driven by the dramatic increase in wheat prices over the past year. Last week, feed wheat was selling for nearly £200 a tonne, a 115% gain on the £93 a t…