The recent growth in staycations has seen a significant increase in leisure operators looking for scenic locations on rural estates and farmland to set up glamping and small bespoke lodge developments. Innovative designs include luxury treehouses, cabins and even converted shipping containers.
Pre-Covid, if a landowner aspired to develop a form of holiday accommodation the enterprise tended to be operated in-hand. Now however, there are operators looking to lease land, invest in new facilities and operate the business themselves so there is no need for the landowner to be involved in the day-to-day operation. Alternatively, a landowner can opt for a hybrid model where they oversee day-to-day operations and the operator is responsible for marketing, sales and guest communication. Rents can be attractive and are usually a blend of part fixed and part turnover based.
The prime tourism spots such as Cornwall, the Lakes and the Highlands remain the most popular with holidaymakers; these are largely seasonal destinations and operators are now equally interested in other areas across the UK for developing year-round venues, if they are easily accessible from major cities and offer attractive, secluded locations for short break holidays. Our experience shows the right quality of accommodation and service level is more important than the location.
It is not only holiday accommodation operators who are looking for attractive rural land to rent on a short and longer-term basis. Operators in the leisure sector are targeting farms and estates to develop businesses such as woodland play venues. Educational bushcraft schools are gaining in popularity and are willing to pay attractive rents for blocks of private woodland to set up summer camps. Perhaps because of lockdown’s dog ownership increase, doggy day care centres are on the increase too. Level sites that can be fenced, have good road access and are near to large towns and cities are highly sought after.
On a shorter-term basis, rural estates and farms are popular venues for outdoor events and festivals. Meanwhile, the current boom in the UK filming industry means there is huge demand for country houses, rural land and farm buildings for location filming. The lack of indoor studio space close to London also means that TV and film production companies are renting agricultural and commercial buildings in rural areas to build temporary studio facilities. Fees paid by the larger streaming services such as Netflix, Prime and Disney can be very attractive. Secondary spend opportunities can also be generated via increased visitor numbers to film locations.
Across the tourism, leisure and events sectors opportunities for arms-length arrangements have never been greater and there is significant potential for landowners to generate useful additional income, where there is no conflict with the existing business.
Picture credit: ÖÖD
Further information
Contact Adam Davies or Hugh Vere Nicoll
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