Norfolk farmland sold for staggering £371k at online auction

The neighbouring parcels of land at Besthorpe, totalling less than 12 acres, sparked an extraordinary bidding battle at the sale, run by rural agency Brown&Co.

The larger plot of just under 10 acres of agricultural land attracted 78 online bids and eventually sold for £256,000 - spectacularly outstripping its original guide price of £70,000-£90,000.

And the neighbouring plot of just over 1.5 acres of grazing land attracted even more interest, with 108 online bids eventually bringing the virtual hammer down at £115,000, to a different buyer.

The figure was more than five times the guide price of £15,000-£20,000, and equates to more than £70,000 per acre.

Two small plots of farmland in Besthorpe, near Attleborough, fetched a combined total of £371,000 at an online auction run by Brown&Co (Image: Brown&Co) Peter Hornor, auctioneer and partner at Brown&Co in Norwich, said: "It is a reminder to everyone that the online auction process is a very good way of maximising value for small parcels of both agricultural and grazing/amenity land.

"The agricultural land can only be used for that currently – you would need planning permission to do anything else.

"The grazing land attracted a huge amount of interest from painters, people wanting it to play football, all sorts of things.

"The land has a pond and trees; it offers privacy and was an opportunity for someone to own their own piece of England."

Andrew Fundell, partner at the Norwich office of Brown&Co (Image: Brown&Co) Andrew Fundell, a partner in the agricultural business consultancy in Brown&Co's Norwich office, said the sale demonstrated the demand for smaller plots of land with "amenity value" - and the potential prices could encourage farmers who may need to raise money.

"It is staggering, these prices that have been achieved, but it is because someone has seen some amenity value to this land beyond its agricultural value," he said. "That is why people are attracted to plots like this.

"For landowners, it offers an opportunity to help them reduce debt or generate money for diversification or succession planning, maybe buying another family member out of the business. There are all sorts of reasons that farms might need the money."

Mr Fundell said another potential opportunity is about to emerge, with the forthcoming sale of 5.5 acres of "peaceful" farmland, easily accessible off Foulsham Road in Hindolveston near Fakenham.

This is for sale in Brown&Co’s online auction which opens for bidding at 11am on November 12 and is scheduled to end 24 hours later.