B&Co - Pointer November 2017

Mr D Pointer 189 Plumstead Road East Thorpe St Andrew

Norwich NR7 9LW

Residential | Commercial | Agricultural Property andBusiness Consultants brown-co.com

Norwich Office

Our ref: AEB/DD/P

The Atrium St George’s Street Norwich Norfolk NR3 1AB DX 5250 Norwich E 01603 629871 DD 01603 598431 F 01603 616199 W brown-co.com T

21 st November 2017

anne.barker@brown-co.com

Mr D Pointer 189 Plumstead Road East Thorpe St Andrew Norwich NR7 9LW

By post & email: david.pointer@ntlworld.com

Dear David

Land adjacent to Norwich Road – “The Allotment”

Sarah and I very much enjoyed meeting you, William and Chris at the land adjacent to Norwich Road on 14 th November. Thank you for taking the time to show us around the property and discuss some of the background to the sale. Following our meeting this report summarises the points we discussed and confirms our approach and recommendations in respect of any sale. Please note that this letter is not a formal valuation undertaken in accordance with the RICS Valuation Standards (The Red Book). It is prepared solely for the purpose of marketing the property, and must not be used for any other purpose. However, a formal valuation can be provided if necessary.

1.

The Property

Whilst the property is well known to you, it is helpful for me to clarify some of the detail to ensure that I have picked up on all of the relevant aspects.

The parcel totals approximately 65 acres of arable land bordered by mature hedges and oak trees. You advised that to the south east of the property there is a gas main. There are two points of access to the field, both of which are off Norwich Road. You advised that the typical cropping rotation includes wheat, sugar beet and occasionally potatoes. At present the land is occupied by Pointer Farms of which David is the remaining partner and the land is contract farmed by the neighbour Valerie Smith. There is no written tenancy in place.

The land has been owned by the family since the 1980’s. The ownership is split between yourself, William and Chris. William and Chris are acting as Executors for their late parents.

You confirmed that Basic Payment Scheme entitlements are held by Pointer Farms and claimed annually. The land was under an ELS/HLS scheme but this has expired. There are no footpaths crossing the land. The only designation is that it is in a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone.

Regulated by RICS. Brown & Co is the trading name of Brown & Co – Property and Business Consultants LLP. Registered Office: Granta Hall, Finkin Street, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 6QZ Registered in England and Wales. Registered number OC302092. A list of members is available for inspection at the Registered Office.

Mr D Pointer 21 st November 2017 Page 2 of 5

2.

Planning & Development Potential

You will only sell the property once and so it is important that any planning and development angles are explored to ensure that value is maximised.

As you are aware, to the north of the parcel, Broadland District Council have allocated land around Rackheath Industrial Estate for a new eco town which will provide 3000 new homes with the option of an additional 1000 homes if required by 2026. There is also further development to the south and with the NDR under half a mile away your property is more accessible than ever. You confirmed that you do not foresee any immediate planning potential on the property, but you want to reserve your position to capture any uplift in value should a change of use be granted in the next 50 years. To protect your position, an overage provision would be most appropriate. This would be triggered in the event that future owners went on to achieve change of use from the existing agricultural use to a residential use. This would include permission for an agriculturally tied dwelling. You would look to capture between 25%-30% of the uplift. The detail of the overage would need to be agreed with you all prior to marketing and would be stated in the particulars.

3. Objectives, Strategy & Timing

You explained that at present grant of probate was still outstanding in respect of part of the ownership and that you would not be looking to market the property until this was finalised. As there is no time pressure, if you do decide to go ahead with the sale, we would recommend waiting until the early spring by which time the property will look its best and allowing for a good period of marketing ahead of a completion post-harvest enabling the buyer to take on the land with vacant possession.

As we discussed, there would be various information to draw together as part of the preparation for sale. The following would be useful if you were able to begin to collate them / send them through:-

- A copy of the Basic Payment Scheme application for the last 3 years - A copy of the most Basic Payment Scheme entitlement statement - A copy of the Rural Land Register plan/s (ideally printed out from the on-line system) - The cropping rotation for the last 5 years. - A plan showing any services across the land including the gas main

4.

Method of Sale

I recommend the flexibility of a sale by private treaty. This allows us to manage the length of the marketing campaign to suit the level of interest and to negotiate between parties. If a competitive situation can be engendered we can bring a sale to a conclusion by inviting best and final offers by a closing date. Viewings would be conducted unaccompanied although we would request that interested parties contact the office before viewing so we know who is likely to be on site and that they carry a copy of the particulars in hand.

5.

Marketing and Publicity

A well-planned marketing campaign is essential if we are to achieve the best possible result for you. I set out below an outline of the process and the costs involved.

Mr D Pointer 21 st November 2017 Page 3 of 5

a)

Brochure: A high-quality brochure is important to display the property at its best and to ensure it is accurately described to purchasers. I would like to allow a budget to produce something similar to Land at Heron Farm although 4 rather than 6 pages may be suitable. A discussed, we would have professional photography to show the property to its best advantage, including drone photography so that the proximity to settlements and the NDR is apparent. We should allow £175 plus VAT for a professional to do this.

We would need to purchase the Ordnance Survey digital data of the holding for the sale plan and particulars. The cost of this is likely to be in the region of £80 plus VAT.

With the above costs and printing the overall cost of the brochure including digital plan and photography would be in the region of £350 plus VAT.

b)

Advertising: Locally, the Eastern Daily Press remains an excellent source of enquiries and has a very wide coverage. We would advertise regularly on a Saturday in the Farm & Country section, which we sponsor.

We would propose to cover the national market via internet coverage as opposed to advertising but we could review this strategy as we got marketing underway.

If we get strong interest at an early stage we can always stop later insertions and you will only be charged for the actual advertisements placed. We pass on the heavy discounts that we receive from the press.

Advertising summary:

EDP Farm & Country

quarter page 3 inserts

£370 plus VAT

c) Applicants: We have a comprehensive register of buyers, linked through all of our offices, looking to purchase agricultural, residential, development and equestrian property. We would begin by circulating details of the property to all those applicants / developers on our register and to the local buyers known to us, and you, who will have a particular interest in the property. Internet: The internet remains a vital source of property enquiries and our website generates important leads for us. We would display the land on our own website which is linked to UK Land & Farms, thelondonoffice.co.uk and rightmove.co.uk as well as the agents’ portal onthemarket.com. This combination of web coverage ensures both national and international exposure. e) Board: Sale boards are a useful way of attracting any passing interest and identifying the property for sale as well as making sure that everyone locally is aware. Given the location a board would be a real advantage and we would recommend a bespoke board detailing the property for sale. We would need to budget £200 plus VAT for this, which would include having the board made and installed on site. d)

Mr D Pointer 21 st November 2017 Page 4 of 5

Marketing Budget Summary

To summarise, the proposed estimated marketing spend is below:

Brochure and associated costs

£350 £370 £200

Advertising

Board

TOTAL

£920 plus VAT

6.

Guide Price & Likely Sale Proceeds

Guide price strategy is important, experience has shown that setting a sensible guide price is key to attracting the maximum amount of interest from which to generate a potentially competitive situation with a view to driving the price up.

As explained when we met, the agricultural land market is hugely variable with a wide range of values being achieved.

The quality of the land, cropping potential and issues such as irrigation has some influence on value but the principal factor is location. In areas where acquisitive well-funded neighbours are in a competitive situation against outside investors we have seen prices such as £12,000 per acre paid for straight forward blocks of bare arable land. Elsewhere, we have seen comparable quality parcels struggle to reach £7,500 per acre. Correctly exposed to the market and with the best possible marketing material the land will find its own level and we would set out to achieve the best possible price for you. However, guide price strategy is important. Given the location, attractive nature, quality and long-term development potential we would expect to achieve a figure at the higher end of this range, and, if a competitive situation can be engendered, we would hope to exceed this. You explained on site that you had received offers in the region of £14,000 per acre from your neighbours last year. As such, you would not be willing to accept an offer to sell for less than £12,000 per acre. With this in mind we would recommend guiding the property at this level and we would set the guide price at £780,000 for the whole. However, as discussed, on this occasion, given how keen we would be to work with you on in respect of this transaction, we would be willing to reduce our commission rate to 1.25% of the sale price with marketing costs as set out above and VAT in addition. 8. Summary Thank you again for asking us to advise you. We hope that this letter provides an appropriate amount of detail at this stage in your decision making process. I know that this will be a family decision and if it would be helpful we would be happy to meet with the family to discuss this proposal and the best way forward and to go over any questions. Given our experience and knowledge of the local market I am confident that we are best placed to get the best result for you all and we would very much enjoy looking after you through this important process. 7. Instructions and Terms of Engagement Our standard sole agency fee is 2% of the sale price. Disbursements and VAT are paid in addition to this.

Mr D Pointer 21 st November 2017 Page 5 of 5

Perhaps we could have a word when you have all had the opportunity to look over the letter to discuss your initial thoughts and see if it would be helpful to meet again in the future.

With kind regards

Yours sincerely

Anne Barker MRICS FAAV Partner - Land Agency For and on behalf of Brown & Co Property and Business Consultants LLP

Banbury • Brigg • Bury St Edmunds • Grantham • Holt • Huntingdon • King’s Lynn MeltonMowbray • Norwich • Retford • Spalding • also in London, St Lucia &Poland Property andBusiness Consultants

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