Alternative Outlook

English farmland has outperformed the majority of other mainstream asset classes over the past 10 years, including prime property in London.

According to property firm Knight Frank farm land has seen capital growth of almost 200%. This compares with 57% for the FTSE 100 equities index shares, 48% for average UK house prices and 100% for top end London real estate.

But the figures show that farmland market did experience a slight lull this summer with average prices across England dipping by 1% to £6,220/acre.

‘Given that farmers hav…

It is known as “gold with a coupon”. English farmland has trebled in value over the past decade and now averages more than £6,000 an acre. While farmers still make up at least half of all buyers, estate agents have seen an influx of City bankers as well as buyers from overseas – crisis-stricken Greece and Italy, along with India and China. In the next five years it is expected to rise in value by more than two-thirds.

The appeal of farmland is that it is a safe-haven asset, like gold, but also gives annual returns of 2-3%. On t…

Chinese buyers, whose interest in foreign farmland has raised hackles from Argentina to Australia, have turned their attention to the UK – although for investment, rather than food security, reasons.

“We are seeing interest from a wide variety of investors, as well as farmers. It is interesting to note that over the past 60 years farmland has often performed well in times of economic crisis. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth prices have risen by almost 11,000%.”

James Prewett, Head of Regional Farm Sales in Central and Western Englan…

English farm land has risen in value by 10,745% during the lat 60 years, according to research carried out to mark The Queen’s diamond jubilee.

Values rose most quickly, up by 390%, during the third decade of her reign and hit a record high of £6,156 an acre in June 2011, the research from Knight Frank shows.

‘Queen Elizabeth II has presided over a huge increase in the price of farmland. When she became queen in 1952 the average price of agricultural land in England was £56 per acre. It is now worth £6,073 an acre, according…

Rocketing farmland prices are forecast to average £10,000 per acre by 2015 – four times what they were in 1995.

According to a report from Knight Frank, investors from home and abroad view Westcountry farmland as a safe haven for their cash, while the region’s farmers have been borrowing to expand their existing holdings. Demand is currently outpacing supply in a land-grab fuelled by a combination of existing farmers buying up neighbours’ land whenever it comes to market and City investors opting for the security of farmland …

English farmland values paused for breath in 2011, according to estate agents Knight Frank, but they continue to boast stronger returns than traditional asset classes over the last decade.

In the final quarter, UK farmland fell in value by 0.8%, pushing the rise for the year down to 4.0%. Andrew Shirley, Knight Frank’s head of research, said: “The annual growth might be considered slightly disappointing compared with recent performance, but it is still robust, given the economic situation.” Over the year, the FTSE World index dropped …

What seemed like a crazy rush into agricultural land during the worst of the credit crunch has proven a shrewd move. And the bulls remain in the ascendency, writes Linton Chiswick.

Almost three years ago to the day I wrote, on Citywire, about the rush to buy or invest in agricultural land.

It was credit crunch-era proper. The foundations were still moving under the residential property market and the masonry was falling around our heads. Memories of the Northern Rock bank run were still relatively fresh, and people were looking for s…