Buccleuch sees profits soar

Benny Higgins

The firm said that while a significant part of the growth had been from property revaluations and asset sales, underlying operational performance also improved.

Buccleuch reported group turnover of £54.2 million across property and rural business operations, up from £36.7 million.

Over the year ending last October, it diversified from its usual land activities into a range of commercial investments.

The Duke of Buccleuch, the largest private landowner in Scotland with some 280,000 acres, stood down as chairman of the company in March to be succeeded by former Tesco Bank chief executive Benny Higgins.

Buccleuch actively farms 159,000 acres across its four estates and, over the year, the forestry team have continued their work planting and maintaining 24,250 acres of commercial and heritage woodlands.

Alongside these more traditional rural industries, Buccleuch’s commercial property interests had a positive year and further investment was made into Dalkeith Country Park to improve the customer experience, the annual report stated.

Benny Higgins, executive chairman of MDS Estates Ltd, the parent company of Buccleuch, said: “We find ourselves on the cusp of an exciting period of change for Buccleuch.

“Within the commercial property sector, the commercial and residential markets have had a positive year, with record levels of investment and sustained growth in rental and capital values which were better than predicted. Against this background, Buccleuch Property had a positive year, delivering profitability against target and delivering to forecast on disposal and reinvestment commitments, setting us up in a strong position for the coming year.

“Diversification and an increasing shift to working within joint ventures in agriculture have and will continue to help the business maintain a positive position overall. While within forestry, the attainment of better than expected timber prices in the South of Scotland, combined with other works undertaken by the forestry team led to a substantial increase in revenue over the year, which looks set to be maintained.

“Brexit continues to cause uncertainty across all the sectors in which Buccleuch operate, although the true impact will not be known for a few years.

“We will continue to plan our various land uses, from forestry and farming, to hospitality and renewable energy, with a clear focus on economic, environmental and community considerations. In doing so, we will continue to review and shrink the footprint of Buccleuch, which, together with new projects and other investments will allow the business to maintain a surer footing.

“While we have reported profit of £23,230,000 in these accounts a very significant part of that arises from property revaluations and from profits on the sale of assets, rather than underlying operational performance, although that too has improved year on year. This strong financial position will improve job security for colleagues and provides the means to invest in other areas of the business.”