Sutton Bridge estate hits market with £55m asking price

The Henry Smith Charity has appointed Savills to sell its 5,000-acre Sutton Bridge estate in south Lincolnshire for £55m. The estate is one of the largest of its kind currently on the market, said Savills, and provides a “considerable income stream from agricultural and residential property”. Sutton Bridge is being offered for sale as a whole and in four lots. All the 4,570 acres of arable land is classified grade 1 and the silt soils sustain a diverse array of crops, including cereals, oilseed rape, potatoes, field vegetables, onions and sugar beet. The estate also supports a large number of tenants across multiple tenancies, ranging from larger equipped holdings of up to 545 acres to much smaller bare land parcels. There are multiple farmsteads on the estate that vary in design and specification but include crop storage facilities, workshops, general-purpose agricultural buildings, traditional structures and farm offices. Tenancies are mainly short and medium-term farm business tenancies with smaller areas occupied on Agricultural Holdings Act tenancies. The current agricultural rent roll for the estate is just over £1m per annum. There is also an area of saltmarsh to the north which is let on a 999-year lease to Natural England. The portfolio includes 33 houses and cottages spread throughout the estate, which are in addition to residential property included in agricultural tenancies. The properties are all let under assured shorthold tenancies, with a residential rent roll of approximately £260,640 per annum. The estate also offers a number of development opportunities. To the west of the village of Sutton Bridge is an allocation for 210 homes.