Buccleuch to merge Borders estates

The combined estate will be known as Borders Estate.

Buccleuch said that Bowhill and Eskdale and Liddesdale Estates had been working increasingly closely and a single unified operation reflected more accurately estate activity and operations, therefore from the 1st of September this will be formalised. Borders Estate will be managed by Edward Morris, who was previously Estate Manager at Bowhill and has been overseeing operations at Eskdale & Liddesdale since early this year.

There will be no change to ongoing relationships with residential and farming tenants, with both legal agreements and key personnel remaining unchanged under the new Borders Estate umbrella.

The overall footprint of the combined estate will be significantly reduced as Buccleuch progresses its policy of selling land and farms. Savills, the property advisers, have been engaged by Buccleuch to look at bringing more agricultural land to the market, either as a portfolio or individual units. Buccleuch has sold 24 farms, a total of 32,000 acres across its Scottish Estates over the past 20 years. Discussions are currently ongoing with approximately 40 tenants.

John Glen, Chief Executive of Buccleuch, said: “The Bowhill and Eskdale and Liddesdale Estates have been operating closely together and it makes sense to create a single estate identity, which is more representative of our operations. We continue to streamline and harmonise our back office processes, in order to develop a consistent approach across all aspects of our rural business. Buccleuch will continue to have a strong attachment to the Bowhill and Eskdale and Liddesdale areas.”