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'Unique' farmland fighting the crunch?

Jaimie Kanwar

A new study has revealed some surprising figures relating to the value of UK farmland.

According to the research by Knight Frank:

- Pasture and arable land has hit a whopping £8000/acre in parts of England.

- Prime arable land is worth on average £6000/acre on average.

- Pasture land is now worth over £5300/acre on average.

Commenting on the figures, Andrew Shirley, head of rural land research at Knight Frank, said: "It is already well known that land values are increasing, but these new and unique county-by-county figures, show where the regional hotspots are and some of the results are quite surprising.

"What these figures show is the demand for all types of land in England is still extremely strong. The limited amount available to buy means the difference in price between top-quality and average soil is relatively small.

"Despite the credit crunch that is affecting other property sectors, agricultural land is still in demand from a wide variety of buyers. There are a number of funds in the market prepared to pay premium prices for the few parcels of land they are able to buy.

"The big question is how long can this trend continue? My feeling is that prices will continue rising but we have already seen the strongest period of growth.

"However, farmland certainly isn't a bubble waiting to burst and in these uncertain financial times is still likely to appeal to investors looking for a safe home for their funds and farmers wanting to expand their acreages."