Hedge Funds

Some of the country's top hedge fund managers are buying a slice of the countryside to make the most of the currant poor financial market conditions. 

The cost of farm land looks likely to soar as traditional British "lifestyle farmer" are joined by multimillion-pound investors hurriedly moving their wealth out of stocks and shares into farmland. Across the world, hedge fund managers, property developers and other investors are turning their eyes to farmland

"Country living February 1st 2008"  

Lifestyle farmers - typically city high-fliers have become the largest group involved in the buying of British farmland. According to Mark Ashbridge, of Savills Private Finance, 40 to 50 per cent of farmland purchases are now made by lifestyle farmers. Knight Frank put the figure at 38%.  Knight Frank says. This mounting interest combined with a shortage of supply, has meant increase of up to 40% in the price of UK farmland in 2007.

FACTFILE 

Land is much less freely available today than 50 years ago. According to Savils Private Finance, the amount of publicly marketed land has fallen form about 600,000 in the 1960's to 125,000 acres a year today. 

Foreign investors account for about 15% of UK farmland purchasers, with most interest coming form denmark and Ireland, where the prices of agricultrutural and is significantly higher than in the UK. 

Given the turmoil and unsettled nature of the financial markets, the 2007 astonishing farmland value increase of 25.3% represents the second highest annual rise on record.