Landowner Jeremy Leggett has put vast swathes of Scottish countryside on the market as he tries to pay off an £11 million debt. We take a look at what’s for sale.
Jeremy Leggett insists the sales are not specifically aimed at paying off a loan.
But he needs to put wheels in motion as a fallback option.
Just in case his efforts to raise fresh equity to fund his rewilding ambitions come to nothing.
Rural property giant Strutt & Parker is now marketing up to 3,000 acres across three estates on behalf of his firm, Highlands Rewilding.
Jeremy Leggett’s nature recovery ‘vision’
The current landowner is looking for buyers who share his vision “to enable nature recovery and encourage community prosperity”.
They must also be willing to let Highlands Rewilding continue to manage the land “to ensure this happens”.
So, what’s for sale in this “unique nature recovery investment opportunity”?
Beldorney Estate, with a total of 866 acres up for grabs at offers over £5m
Beldorney Estate is described as an “attractive” 866-acre grassland-dominated estate in Aberdeenshire.
Straddling the River Deveron, it boasts a 16th Century seven-bedroom castle, a farmhouse, three cottages and a range of other buildings.
The estate is currently being managed primarily with the aim of achieving a “natural capital uplift”, with a view to developing income streams through the provision of ecosystem services.
Ambitions for the estate include increasing biodiversity and carbon sequestration.
Highlands Rewilding says this is being achieved by restoring through the removal of Sitka spruce regeneration and blocking drains, improving grasslands through regenerative agriculture, expanding wetland habitats, and expanding woodland areas.
North Bunloit, with a total of 834 acres on sale at offers over £2.2m
North Bunloit is part of the wider Bunloit Estate on the western shores of Loch Ness and just 16 miles from the Highland capital, Inverness.
It includes Ardachy House, which is described as “a magnificent four-bedroom contemporary house enjoying an elevated position and breathtaking views across Loch Ness and the Monadhliath mountain range”.
The 834-acre estate largely comprises conifer plantations, peatland and bog, alongside large areas of ancient native woodland and heath.
Peatland restoration work is under way and the conifers are gradually being thinned and replaced with native broadleaves, boosting biodiversity and long-term carbon sequestration.
Ulva and the Isle of Danna, Tayvallich, with 1,269 acres of land now available at offers over £3.71m
Highlands Rewilding says Ulva and the tidal island of Danna form an “outstandingly scenic” 1,269-acre estate in mid-Argyll.
The area is home to “an exceptionally diverse mosaic of habitat types”, the firm adds.
The grassland is said to be “incredibly species rich”, making it “one of the richest areas of conservation importance in the Argyll district”.
Highlands Rewilding says the area’s coastal environments are “extremely diverse” and include nationally significant priority marine features such as saltmarsh, mixed intertidal sediments and native oysters.
There are currently three properties which are all currently lived in and/or rented out under various tenancy agreements.
Two other properties on the estate are said to offer potential development opportunities, subject to planning.
‘Unique opportunity’
The main residence is Port nan Gallan in a “stunning” position on the Isle of Danna, looking out over Loch na Cille and towards the Jura. There are also two jetties and a boathouse.
Robert McCulloch, head of estates and farm agency for Strutt & Parker in Scotland, said: “This is a unique opportunity, with buyers being offered a choice amongst three scenic estates hosting a wide array of habitats and wildlife species.”
Mr McCulloch also highlighted residential properties ranging from the 16th Century castle on Beldorney Estate to a recently built, architectural award-winning contemporary home.
He added: “While this is an open market sale, which encourages the interest of purchasers of all types, the preferred bidders are those who share Highland Rewilding’s vision for the future and are willing to enter into a long-term management agreement.”
Such arrangements will support Highlands Rewilding’s nature recovery objectives, he said.
Buyers must buy in to Highlands Rewilding land management deals
Highlands Rewilding has produced a question and answer document which explains why it is selling the land and its long-term objectives. It is on the company’s website.
Buyers will be asked to enter into either a Nature and Community In Perpetuity (NCIP) or Operating System Partnerships for Rewilding (Osprey) agreement. The NCIP model is already in place on part of Tayvallich Estate now owned by a charity, the Barrahormid Trust.
The Osprey model is for landowners who are not able to guarantee their commitment in perpetuity but are still willing to partner with Highlands Rewilding as land manager, sharing natural capital proceeds.
Highlands Rewilding says it is in an active fundraising with potential investors from financial institutions.
The company aims to raise £25m, with “good prospects as things stand”.
Earlier this week, Mr Leggett said: “Only in the unlikely event that we fail in our current fundraising round will we use the proceeds from the land sales to repay the loan that allowed us to buy Tayvallich in the first place.”
And dismissing reports the disposals amounted to a “fire sale”, he said: “Most of the coverage seems to assume the simple story that we are going bankrupt and have only put our land on sale to repay debts. Its more complicated and more positive than that.”
The preferred bidders are those who share Highland Rewilding’s vision for the future.” Robert McCulloch, Strutt & Parker
Meanwhile, Community Land Scotland has warned there is little oversight of land being bought by speculators, or absentee investors who have “very little concern for the wellbeing of our communities, society and natural environment”.
Highlands Rewilding borrowed £12m in May 2022 as a short-term bridging loan. It was taken out over 12-months to finance the purchase of the 3,500-acre Tayvallich Estate.
Some refinancing means the debt is now owed to the state-owned UK Infrastructure Bank and “top online partners”, with £11m remaining.
Clock ticking for debt repayment
Highlands Rewilding is trying to raise fresh equity by the end of this month.
And it says that if this course of action fails, it will need offers for the land up for sale by December 10.
Glen Urquhart Rural Community Association is already mulling the purchase of all or part of the 1,300-acre Bunloit Estate, near Drumnadrochit, with the help of charity Trees for Life.
Who is Jeremy Leggett?
Mr Leggett, a former Greenpeace director, sold renewable power developer Solarcentury to Norwegian state energy giant Statkraft in 2020 for £117.7m.
He then invested in Scottish land.
The 70-year-old won the first Hillary Laureate for International Leadership in Climate Change and boasts a raft of other major environmental awards. He was also the first chairman of the Carbon Tracker Initiative, an independent financial think tank that carries out in-depth analysis on the impact of the energy transition on capital markets.
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