Sustainable farming
Welcome
Inverbroom Estate
In their own words
INVERBROOM
Savills 2025
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Copyright © 2025 — Savills
As we look back on a turbulent 12 months, the need to build resilience into your business remains critical.
The rural sector continues to experience significant change, but solutions are starting to emerge. It’s crucial to focus on strategies that ensure long-term sustainability. One of the issues I often see in rural businesses is unsustainable levels of debt. Although asset value may be sufficient, unaffordable debt can ultimately cripple a rural business already operating on narrow margins. High levels of debt restrict your ability to invest, which in turn hinders innovation and expansion. To combat this, business models need to focus on repeatable income that generates reliable cashflow – that way, you can cover your operational expenses and fund future growth. Relying on asset disposal should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Instead, future strategies need to focus on resilience. I believe that building resilience in the rural sector is underpinned by three pillars: financial, partnerships and collaboration, and adaptability. The financial aspect is about developing sustainable income streams.
To do that, business owners have to become more willing and able to work collaboratively – be it with other rural business owners, local networks or suppliers. Finally, adaptability to change is paramount. Rural business owners need to be more flexible than ever and prepared to consider a range of diversification options. Government pressures on rural businesses are not going away and the economic climate will continue to change. Taxes related to inheritance and capital gain need to be paid out of income, rather than relying on debt. Demand for land is stronger than ever and there are genuinely exciting opportunities out there. So, my advice is to focus on present realities and keep expectations realistic, or risk missing valuable opportunities that are happening around you right now. New owners coming into the rural sector are doing things very differently, that means existing rural businesses need to do things differently, too. You must be prepared to innovate and willing to embrace change.
JONATHAN HENSON
Head of UK Rural
07967 555 550
jhenson@savills.com
autumn / winter 2025
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Savills 2024
Copyright © 2023 — Savills
Succession planning
Next gen farmers
Spring / Summer 2025
Sustainable Farming
Inverbroom Estate Estate
THE Inverbroom Estate
SUSTAINABLE FARMING
A new beginning
The opportunity to purchase a 7,618-hectare Highland estate with a generous private donation was an unprecedented one for the Scottish Wildlife Trust. Here we talk to its Chief Executive, Jo Pike, about the milestone of acquiring Inverbroom Estate.
“Purchasing an estate of this size was uncharted territory for us,” explains Jo, “which is why we brought Savills on board.” We're really looking forward to discovering the diversity and extent of species across the site. The estate is located within the Temperate Rainforest Zone, so remnants of that will still exist. In future, we'll be examining historical records and bringing in local ecologists. But before we even start to think about what the site might look like in 50 years’ time, our big priority right now is to listen and learn.”
The size and scale of this site offers us the chance to demonstrate that managing a landscape for nature can go hand in hand with managing it for people.
James smith
Navigating the acquisition
The acquisition process came with tight deadlines and limited access to some information. “It was extremely useful to draw on Savills industry experience to establish the necessary financial modelling,” Jo explains. For a charity like ours, the potential running costs of an estate this size were just as important as the cost of the purchase. “We felt a huge responsibility to spend our donor’s money wisely, and that included making sure the business was financially sustainable. The breadth of expertise available through Savills was greatly appreciated.”
How it adds up
Through Savills eyes
Aspects of land
AUTUMN / WINTER 2025
5-minute read
We have over 100 wildlife reserves across Scotland and a huge variety of habitats, but the size and scale of this site offer us the chance to demonstrate that managing a landscape for nature can go hand in hand with managing it for people. This includes working closely with the contract farmers, whose family has farmed at Inverbroom for more than 90 years, and involving the local community – for example, through volunteering.
Nature and people, together
Restoring the mosaic of habitats - the peatlands, the woodlands and riverbank riparian habitats - will sit at the heart of our strategy here. The acquisition also strengthens the organisation’s long-standing presence and commitment to the local community in the north-west of Scotland, building on its work at Ben Mor Coigach.
Restoration at the heart
Building a sustainable future
While the long-term vision is still taking shape, the team is already laying the groundwork. “We're working hard at getting to know the site and have recently undertaken a thermal drone survey to assess how many deer are present." "We have also made a commitment to our donor that we will not finance anything at Inverbroom through the sale of carbon credits,” says Jo.
The acquisition happened at the end of the Trust's 60th anniversary year and celebrates a landmark achievement.
We wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without Savills help. Kenny and his colleagues were very generous with their expertise and their contribution surpassed expectations.
JO PIKE, Chief Executive, the Scottish Wildlife Trust
CHARLOTTE GILFILLAN
Associate Director Savills Rural
07974 064743
charlotte.gilfillan@savills.com
The more successful the estate business is, the more they can achieve as a charity.
Scottish Wildlife Trust’s acquisition of Inverbroom Estate was an ambitious undertaking, in the best possible way. For the Trust to realise its aspirations in terms of nature restoration, operating at a landscape scale is absolutely necessary. Land ownership is as much about people as it is about managing land, an ethos we share with the Trust. Building relationships at an early stage with those who live and work on the estate and the local community was a key priority for everyone involved. Communication has been at the heart of that.
Right now, the Trust is focusing on a smooth transition across the estate, while considering development of its future strategic objectives. The Inverbroom Estate is an exciting opportunity for the Trust to demonstrate a different approach to land ownership in Scotland. Jo and her team have a vision, and we are excited to play a part in helping them achieve that. Ultimately, the more successful the business aspects of the estate are, the more they can achieve as a charity.
KENNETH MUNN
DIRECTOR, SAVILLS RURAL
07870 999174
KMunn@savills.com
It’s genuinely exciting to see a charity invest in an estate of this stature.
I’ve worked for Savills for two decades and this was one of the most rewarding projects. “It was our responsibility to help the Trust fully understand what it was buying and how it would manage the estate going forward. By bringing together many different skill sets from across Savills – including estate management, tourism and leisure, food and farming, residential, forestry and natural capital – we were able to look at potential running costs, as well as assets and liabilities.
Our Agency team was also involved with the purchase negotiations, while our Architectural and Building Surveying team came on board when we identified that one of the estate bridges was potentially at risk. We were thrilled when the purchase of this significant asset was completed in early 2025. It was a real privilege to be involved, and exciting to see the Scottish Wildlife Trust invest in an estate of this scale. It proves that there is the potential for land in Scotland to be held by different types of organisations and developed in unique ways.
Image source: Landfor
Credit: Landfor
How the Scottish Wildlife Trust acquired their largest and most complex site
The estate was purchased by Scottish Wildlife Trust for £17.5m in early 2025, following a large private donation.
Made up of peatland, semi-natural woodland, upland habitat, farmland and various bodies of water, the site’s lowest point is around sea level, and rises to 999m.
The estate includes a traditional 11-bedroom Victorian hunting lodge, currently holiday accommodation, and 20 tenanted residential properties.
Inverbroom’s architectural heritage includes two bridges designed by Sir John Fowler, former owner of the estate and chief engineer on the construction of Edinburgh’s Forth Rail Bridge.
A former sporting estate, Inverbroom sits eight miles south of Ullapool and spans 7,618 hectares. It also contains the 2.5-mile-long Loch a’Bhraoin.
With over 100 wildlife reserves across Scotland and a huge variety of habitats, but the size and scale of this site offer us the chance to demonstrate that managing a landscape for nature can go hand in hand with managing it for people. This includes working closely with the contract farmers, whose family has farmed at Inverbroom for more than 90 years, and involving the local community – for example, through volunteering.
Image source: Landor
Elena Hayward
Apprentice Surveyor
07947 887383
elena.hayward@savills.com
I joined Savills as a business administrator apprentice just under two years ago and am now training to become a rural chartered surveyor. After finishing my A-levels in 2023, I wasn’t sure university was the right path for me.
I grew up in a rural village outside Stirling and took up competitive swimming as a child. When it became clear, however, that it wouldn’t be a professional career, I turned my attention to the land. Having studied environmental geography at the University of Stirling, I went on to complete a masters in land economy at the University of Aberdeen. With that under my belt, I applied for a graduate surveyor position with Savills in the Perth office as part of their estate management team. Just before I sat my APC, I joined the Scottish Consultancy team where, after a year carrying out valuations, I was seconded, as part of the role, to work at Buccleuch on the Queensberry Estate. The secondment was originally supposed to be for three months, however I stayed for four years – gaining valuable experience in estate management across their wide-ranging portfolio, including agriculture, forestry, property, hospitality and sport. Next, I joined the team in Carlisle to focus on a variety of roles – from managing two very different estates (one institutional, one private) to carrying out valuations. In January this year, I moved to the Dumfries office as part of the Scottish Rural Consultancy team to help grow this type of work.
JOE DANCE
Strategic Ecologist
07779 858995
joe.dance@savills.com
I always advise young people I meet to do work experience in their field of interest; it could prove invaluable, even if, like me, it ends up striking something off the list.
As a young boy, my dream was to become a vet. However, after a week’s work experience in my early teens, I quickly realised it wasn’t going to be for me. Instead, I undertook a degree in land management – during which I did my sandwich placement year with the Savills team in Salisbury. I was very lucky: even though I was, appropriately, very low down on the pecking order, I enjoyed the work and people, the office was extremely lively and I knew immediately that it was the right career. After graduating in 2001 and a spell working on farms overseas, I joined the Savills graduate scheme as part of Land Management based in Wimborne. After qualifying, I moved back to my home city of Oxford to specialise in selling land, farms and estates in Oxfordshire and the surrounding counties. Alongside heading up the Oxford office, it remains one of my core areas of interest today, particularly in the early stages of adding value and planning. Over the years, I’ve acted for different types of landowner including private, corporate and institutional with properties ranging from strategic land parcels to large country estates – and lots in between. In January 2025, I was appointed a Savills (UK) Board Director and asked to run the Finance & Operations Board within Savills Rural. As our strategy is to seek growth, it’s an exciting area to be in as we look at new services and geographies to embrace.
BALANCING ACT
Inverbroom
Sustainability
The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) is a major driver in helping farmers looking to make that shift, explains Ed Horton, Savills Regenerative Agricultural Specialist. “The SFI was never about replacing the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), but it was about public money being used for public good, such as reducing inputs and improving biodiversity and water quality. When you look at the Defra stats for Jan 2025, it’s clear that the SFI does help farmers deliver this.” The cropping aspect of SFI has been one of the biggest uptakes, with legume fallows offering an alternative to conventional break crops. “Oilseed rape can be challenging in terms of margin and winter beans are notoriously unreliable, so legume fallows offer a positive outcome for both farm and environment. They provide green cover, help control weeds like blackgrass to reduce herbicide use and resistance, and put a sustainable, long-term rotation in the mix,” says Ed. “It’s about looking at how the whole farm works as part of the landscape. The mosaic approach often works well – employing small areas of the farm to good effect. This might be with wild bird strips alongside existing habitat cover, beetle banks under telegraph poles, or nectar strips alongside hedgerows.”
For farmers who were already moving in the direction of regenerative techniques, the SFI offers the opportunity to be rewarded for this. “If you’ve already taken insecticides out of use, then you’re looking at £45/ha per year for doing so. If you’re using direct drilling, it’s £73/ha per year for three years. The SFI gives farmers the confidence to make these switches, as well as encouraging them to consider new technologies.” With the debate on land use for food or environmental aspects on-going, Ed feels that SFI has almost got it right. “I think you can argue that capping is needed to stop large areas being put into enhanced grasses, when some of that land is better used for food production. We farm on thin Cotswolds soil prone to drought, so having the alternative income from environmental schemes is useful. For farms such as those in Norfolk on grade 1 land with a diverse and highyielding crop portfolio, the gross margins work out in favour of food production. “Even very productive farms should be looking at ways to boost the environmental aspects. It’s a complex issue and each farmer has their own idea of what works on their farm and what they want to achieve. For all its flaws, SFI is a well thought-out scheme and I hope that the next iteration carries that forward,” says Ed.
On January 1 2025, there were
SFI IN NUMBERS*
32,200
Regenerative agriculture, sustainable farming, conservation ag – call it what you will, there has been a significant shift on UK farms in recent years towards practices that look to balance food production and the environment.
The sudden closure of the scheme in March 2025 has understandably caused a lot of concern for farmers and landowners, explains Andrew Wraith, Savills Food and Farming team. “It’s caused a loss of confidence in the sector. The next SFI announcement is set for spring 2026 and the indications are that there will be a reining back of the whole-field option, or a stricter cap on whole areas. A closer alignment to mid-tier options and a cap on the total hectares entered or the claim amount also looks likely,” says Andrew. The latter may have an impact on the environment benefits derived from the scheme, as larger farms and estates who tend to have a higher impact on biodiversity or water quality will be disadvantaged by a cap.
Initiatives from other companies provide possible alternative income sources. Frontier offers premiums to growers who supply crop production data and payments for certain farming practices, while Tesco rewards farmers meeting targets and providing support for baseline data collection on soil, water and biodiversity. “While current uncertainties over the future of SFI and its successor continue, the number of regenerative and sustainable farming supply contracts from the commercial sector has increased. Many of the contracts dovetail well with the existing SFI options, incentivising producers with additional financial benefits. “With over 40 different contracts across the farming sectors, this continues to be an evolving and important source of income. The supply chain will increasingly require data and evidence to support its own commitments, engaging with their initiatives is an alternative to SFI income, but ideally works together with it,” says Andrew.
THE FUTURE OF SFI
At a glance
Options for Scotland
The Scottish government wants to see Scotland become “a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture”. Its Code of Practice on Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture is a voluntary guide on how farming or crofting businesses can undertake different actions or measures that will help contribute to sustainable and regenerative farming. Enhanced conditionality (making payments conditional on providing actions for biodiversity gain and low emissions production) was integrated with all Basic Payment Scheme funding for farming and crofting from 2025. The Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) offers farmers and crofters set payments for activities supporting nature, climate and biodiversity alongside food production.
Contact us for more information:
2025
Spring / Summer
A Generation Game
In an environment of financial pressure and a changing tax landscape, new and younger farmers are looking to farm in different ways, bringing a youthful energy with them.
Loddington Farm in Kent has been in James Smith’s family since 1882. Once a commercial apple and pear farm supplying major UK supermarkets, it has now pivoted to work with nature and produce environmentally friendly food, with an award-winning farm shop and Owlet Fruit Juice - pressed and bottled on-site.
How regenerative agriculture can deliver affordable food and environmental goals
7-minute read
active SFI agreements in England
on October 2024
up 23%
“Assess soil, produce a soil management plan, and test soil organic matter” covers
(38% of the utilised agricultural area of England)
3,270,000 hectares
“No use of insecticide on arable crops and permanent crops” covers
715,000 hectares
*Data from GOV.UK, Jan 25
07812 404717
ed.horton@savills.com
Ed Horton
07801 277376
Andrew Wraith
awraith@savills.com
Sophie Gregory and husband Tom are tenant farmers running 600 dairy cows, 100 head of beef and 300 acres of arable in rotation on a total of 1500 acres, with various SFI agreements in place. Working with three different landlord estates, with varying approaches to organic farming, means they are 80/20 organic/conventional. “Organic is not synonymous with regenerative, but good organic farming should be. For us, it meant looking at good practice for the land and adapting accordingly. For example, while we went to min till and direct drilling as a way of tacking falling soil indices, we have kept the plough and view it as a tool in the box to use as and when needed,” says Sophie. The whole farm is down to herbal leys, which she says work well in organic systems. SFI has been good for this, particularly after allowing the adjustment for own-seed mixes.
Home Farm
DORSET
“There were some species in the original mix that didn’t work well on our system. It’s important to have this flexibility, as it’s an expensive seed mix and you need it to work.” They have also been in a pilot for regenerative agriculture for their milk buyer Arla, which is looking at a wide variety of dairy farm types and how regenerative agriculture works in each situation. “While there could be capping of total payments to SFI announced in the spring, I’m pretty confident that there will be a replacement offering for anything that is lost. Organic/regenerative farming can justify public money when it is delivering affordable food and environmental goals,” says Sophie.
CASE STUDY
BROADWARD HALL
HEREFORDSHIRE
Broadward Hall is a 600-acre predominantly tenanted mixed farm and has been certified organic for nearly 25 years. Ben Andrews and his father, Colin, fatten around 100 head of beef cattle annually on a mainly forage-based diet, grow 75 acres of brassica crops, 60 acres of potatoes and the remaining land, which doesn’t flood, is used for arable production. “To be truly regenerative you have to understand the wider ecosystem and how you can be part of nature, where possible working with nature rather than against it. Despite being organic for a long time, it’s only relatively recently that I’ve come to see the way strong healthy plants aren’t attacked by pests in the way weaker ones are, and how a more integrated approach removes the need for various chemicals,” says Ben. “We grow broccoli on contract and talking to one of the picking managers recently, it was interesting to hear him say that there’s a difference in crops where the land hasn’t been pushed really hard and how it is able to withstand drought better.” He began an application for SFI this year, but got caught out by the sudden closure of the scheme in March.
“We’re part of Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier, but there’s nothing in it that we don’t do already. For example, whole cropping cereals for the cattle, overwintering stubbles and herbal leys for temporary grasses in rotation. The latter were probably the greenest part of the farm during this drought year.” The farm is also in the Landscape Recovery Scheme, which he feels is very important to them. “Having a scheme like this that is guaranteeing income for the next 20 years will provide a safety net for dealing with the impacts of extreme weather like drought on veg production. But we will look at the 2026 SFI offering to see what it might contribute. “The species rich grassland would work well here, as we restored some wildflower meadows eight years ago and find them a really good hay for cattle. I’d also like to see flexibility on legume fallows, perhaps via a lower payment but allowing cutting and grazing of it. “Integration of cattle into the whole farm system has so many advantages and allowing use of legume fallows in this way would encourage that. Being a mixed farm helps not only with regenerative practices – all our cattle feed is homegrown and we use manure in place of bagged fertiliser – it also helps us be more resilient to fluctuations of input prices. Mixed farming happened for thousands of years and it’s only relatively recently in the aftermath of the Second World War that there has been this disconnect from land management knowledge and the attitude that the answer to everything comes in a bottle,” says Ben.
In their own Words
rural roles
career opportunities
Emma Savage
07816 269020
emma.savage@savills.com
Associate
Growing up on the Norfolk-Suffolk border in a farming family, a career connected to agriculture always felt like a natural path for me. When I was in year 10 at school (14-15) I did a week’s work experience with the Savills Rural team in Norwich, which proved extremely useful and opened my eyes to the world of surveying.
After A Levels, I completed a degree in real estate and land management at Harper Adams University. As soon as I could, I qualified as a chartered surveyor with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and became a fellow of the Central Association for Agricultural Valuers. Looking back, it was a slightly crazy undertaking sitting two major qualifications within three days of each other, but I’m proud of what I achieved. After working for a few years covering areas from Northamptonshire to Yorkshire, I was headhunted for a position with a consultancy firm based just outside Edinburgh. Despite having only been to Scotland once before and knowing nobody in the area, I packed my belongings into my car and drove north.
It meant one more qualification – becoming a member of the Association of Residential Letting Agents, but I haven’t looked back. Two years ago, I was approached to join the Savills Rural team in Perth, where I’m now based. My principal role is estate management, although I do some consultancy as well. I work on two estates, both of which are in Fife. In one role, I am part of a larger team; in the other, I act as the sole managing agent, working alongside other consultants and contractors. Both are mixed estates with agriculture, residential and commercial tenants, and energy schemes such as battery storage, wind and solar. It means that every day is different, which I like. But what I really value is the people I work with and the opportunity to build strong, longlasting relationships with clients, tenants, and contractors.
Most of my classmates were heading that way, but I didn’t want to commit three years to a course I wasn’t convinced by, take on student debt and then face the pressure of finding a graduate job in a career I wasn’t certain about. So, I started exploring alternative routes into work and study. That’s when I came across a Level 3 apprenticeship with Savills on the government’s apprenticeship website. I knew Savills as a major real estate company and was curious about the sector. The role was within the estate management team, which introduced me to a side of the business I hadn’t seen before. Although I didn’t have a rural background, this quickly became irrelevant as I was keen to learn and gain experience.
The apprenticeship involved working four days a week, with one day for study. Over the 18-month course, I developed practical skills, joined colleagues on site visits and worked with a variety of clients. It gave me a real insight into the business and made me realise I wanted to pursue a career as a surveyor. With support from my team and advice from other rural apprentices, I’m now starting a degree apprenticeship at Harper Adams University, which will lead to accreditation as a chartered rural surveyor. It combines full-time work within the estate management team with one week of university study each month. It’s not the conventional route, but it’s a practical and increasingly popular way into the profession – and I’m excited to see where it takes me.
I’m proud to be the first ecologist appointed by Savills. It’s a new role that involves supporting clients to meet their ecological goals, whether they’re about addressing biodiversity net gain [BNG] requirements, concerns over habitat loss, or making use of the opportunities available through local nature recovery strategies.
For me, becoming an ecologist wasn’t an extensively pre-prepared plan. I studied biology and psychology at Keele University, but it wasn’t until my final year dissertation that I caught the bug for fieldwork. I found the process of going out and gathering data, analysing it and compiling a report really enjoyable – it made me wonder what careers required such skills. It was my aunt who inspired my next move. She was redeveloping her farm in Staffordshire and had a company working on site undertaking bat surveys. I asked about doing some work experience with them and was soon lucky enough to be offered a job as a graduate ecologist, where I slowly climbed the ranks, ultimately becoming the regional ecology director at a national firm.
When I was approached by Savills, I was thrilled at the prospect of advising on ecology matters and influencing nature recovery at scale. It means I’m back in the field a bit and working with landowners reviewing ecological strategies and advising on how to deliver biodiversity on their farms and estates – turning theory into practice. “BNG has been the catalyst for changing the way everyone is looking at teir land, from county councils to big corporate landowners and estates. While lots of intervention is driven by compliance and establishing environmental credentials, many landowners planning for the long term feel they have a moral obligation as custodians. My job is to give them the facts and options about balancing BNG with other sustainable land use.
The scope of opportunities at Savills Rural is wide and varied. Here, three of the team discuss their diverse roles
succession planning
Taxing times
The scope of career opportunities in Savills Rural is wide and varied. Here, three people in the business share their stories.
