Wellcome Trust buys £10m worth of Cheshire farms

THE Wellcome Trust has bought a 1,900-acre estate of tenanted farmland in Cheshire from The Lever Hulme Hesketh Trust for more than £10m.

The Alpraham Argicultural estate was part of the Leverhulme Trust – an organisation set up to fund research by the founder of the business which was eventually to become Unilever, william Hesketh Lever.

The tenanted farms are a mix of dairy, arable and stock farmland and contain farmhouses with associated farm buildings.

The Wellcome Trust was advised on the purchase by Bidwells. It has bought the land as part of its property investment strategy.

Alan Lynch of The Wellcome Trust said: “This estate is a high quality addition to our existing agricultural holdings.”

Ian Monks, head of land and business at Bidwells, said: “Agriculture is a long term asset and we have seen a considerable increase in interest in agricultural land from the investment sector in recent times.

“The purchase of The Alpraham Estate by The Wellcome Trust illustrates this.”

Strutt & Parker advised the Lever Hulme Hesketh Trust. The agency’s head of rural consultancy said: “The decision to sell was not taken lightly but it is becoming increasingly important to hold a diverse range of investments and this sale will assist that balance.”