Commercial property: Farming and fishing for new business

Lifestyle purchases, which may combine buildings, a business and a home, are a niche market and attract interest both from corporate investors and individuals looking for a complete change in their work-life balance. And two properties put on the market last week represent attractive examples of this.

Galbraith is marketing the sale of Mabie Farm Park just south of Dumfries. The attraction, which includes a shop, café, indoor and outdoor play areas and 83 acres of land, logged visitor numbers of more than 60,000 last year.

The sale also includes two residential properties – the five-bedroomed Burnside Farmhouse and The Old Barn, a three-bedroomed converted house which offers rental potential.

The farmland is predominantly Grade 3 and Grade 4 grassland, currently used for the grazing of a herd of native-breed cattle and a flock of commercial sheep. Most of the farm buildings are utilised for the business and provide a mixture of play areas, a tea room, animal petting areas and a farm shop.

David Corrie,a senior associate at Galbraith, and based locally at its Castle Douglas office, says: “The farm park has been run by the same owners, who have invested greatly in the business, for the past 19 years.

“There is considerable goodwill between the business and the local community, with recent attractions being created in response to customer demand.

“With two residential properties, this sale represents an excellent opportunity either for established farmers or those new to farming, as it offers a great work-life balance and the chance to continue an established and successful business.”

The new owners of Mabie Farm Park could take on its livestock list of Shetland ponies, llamas, alpaca, donkeys and belted Galloway cows, plus rabbits, guinea pigs, chipmunks and birds, including peacocks, ducks and quail.

The farm’s barns house rope swings, a climbing wall, trampolines and bouncy castle, while outside there are go-karts, quad bikes, astroturf sledging tracks and a miniature train which tours the whole park.

Also included in the Mabie sale, at offers over £2 million, is a boating pond with paddle boats  and a wildlife pond.

Carbeth Fishery, situated in the Stirlingshire hamlet of the same name, is a commercial property which offers a more relaxed rural business.

A little more than ten miles from Glasgow, the trout fishery comes with a five-bedroomed detached bungalow, a two-bedroomed timber lodge, three large trout ponds, a fishery shop with kitchen, a large car park and a poly tunnel.

The aquaculture venture was established in 1998, but there is scope to develop the business and to diversify into other rural leisure opportunities.

Carbeth Fishery is being marketed by Stirling-based real estate agent Baird Lumsden at offers over £850,000.