YOUR MONEY
compulsory purchase of land, promotion of secure tenancies, taxation and restricting the amount of land owned by one individual. Environment minister Paul Wheelhouse has said a Land Reform Bill will be introduced before the end of the current term of the Scottish Parliament. Arguably most pressing of all this year
‘Many seasoned observers are expecting a hefty spike in buying interest in the event of a No vote’
has been the uncertainty created by the independence referendum. There seems no doubt that some potential buyers will have held back until the result is known. Many seasoned observers are expecting a hefty spike in buying interest in the event of a no vote. Despite the uncertainty, however, Savills
has handled some significant deals of late, including the private sale of the 12,000-acre Glenforsa estate on Mull, and the launch on the market of the 2,500-acre Lundie estate in Angus at offers over £9.3 million. It is also offering the beautiful Killean estate in Kintyre for £5.5 million. A total of 1,015 acres at Southside and
Blinkbonny farms, just ten miles outside Edinburgh, is the largest arable farm in the Lothians offered for sale for a generation. It is on sale at offers over £4.4 million. Meanwhile, the sale of Tanera Mor, the largest of the Summer Isles, off Scotland’s North West coast, has received interest from 44 different countries. So who are the buyers and what are their
motives? According to Savills’ figures for the UK overall, institutional and corporate investors account for 11 per cent; 15 per cent comprise private non-farm buyers; 25 per cent are private buyers with existing estates; and the
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largest proportion, 48 per cent, is accounted for by farmers. In Scotland the market will have a higher percentage of farmer purchases, but nonetheless, Savills reports an increase in the new ‘lifestyle buyer’ back in the Scottish market for the first time since 2008. Non-farming money is chasing the best arable land and also upland hill ground for tree planting. A similar picture emerges from Knight Frank’s
farm agent, James Denne. ‘There has been a lot of talk about the impact of the referen dum, land reform and reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, but there is much more confidence in the market for agricultural land than you might imagine, particularly for good arable ground,’ he says. ‘Supply is still very limited and demand remains firm. Because relatively little land does come to the market, farmers will always try to buy anything nearby that becomes available.’ Another sign of the confidence underpinning
the market is Knight Frank’s recent sale of the 28,300-acre Auch and Invermearan estate for more than its £11 million guide price. While sporting and upland farming businesses were the key attractions, the estate’s potential to generate hydroelectricity was one of the main reasons for the purchase. It was also the second sale worth more than £10 million that the firm has handled in the past 18 months, amid interest from around the globe. The expectation is that demand will
continue to outstrip supply, with Knight Frank predicting average prices to rise by a further 5 per cent over the next 12 months. One thing’s for sure: the appeal of owning a slice of Scotland is unlikely to diminish any time soon.
Q: Do recently announced changes to pensions mean an alteration to my investment strategy?
A: The last Budget re-drew the rules on taking pension benefits, allowing those already in retirement the option of taking more income from their defined contribution pensions. The intention is to expand this even further next year. The Chancellor hopes most people will be sensible and not spend this immediately. However, it is likely many will accelerate their draw-downs. The question is how to balance assets within the pension fund, and this is something our wealth-planning team considers carefully. As with any portfolio, your existing circumstances and objectives will be the driving
factor, specifically time-frame and attitude to risk. Should you wish to accelerate withdrawals over a short time-frame, say five years, the focus should be to provide greater certainty by moving the portfolio towards a more defensive position through fixed-income securities or allocating to more defensive areas of the equity market. If the time-frame is longer, say 20 years, the portfolio will have the capacity to
Peter Hillier Tel: 0131 270 3004
peter.hillier@cazenovecapital.com YOURSF
TO HAVE YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED EMAIL THEM TO
EDITOR@SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK
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WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK
withstand the periods of volatility we see with each market cycle, and a more traditional investment approach could be adopted. In either scenario it would be wise to retain two years’ worth of income in cash
to protect against the need to sell investments at a time when markets are weak. In summary, there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. As with all portfolios, your own circumstances should dictate the strategy.
This article is issued by Cazenove Capital Management which is a trading name of Schroder & Co. Limited, 12 Moorgate, London EC2R 6DA. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Nothing in this article should be deemed to constitute the provision of financial, investment or other professional advice in any way. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
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