One of Britain’s wealthiest aristocrats is selling his 9,500-acre estate - including a caravan site and a pub - for £35m in England's largest single land sale. Lord Max Percy, the youngest son of the Duke of Northumberland, has put Rothbury Estate on the market.
The estate, which includes 12 farms, 1,800 acres of woodland and the Simonside Hills, has been in the Percy family since 1332. The sale also includes a river for salmon and trout fishing, 23 residential properties, a caravan site and the Crown and Thistle pub in the tiny village of Alwinton.
The rent from the farms, buildings and houses on the estate currently brings in £283,000-a-year, giving any future buyer an instant income. Estate agent Knight Frank is marketing the 9,486-acre estate with an asking price of £35m.
They boast the “incredibly rare” sale is “the single largest ringfenced carbon offsetting opportunity to come to the open market in England for decades”. It is the first time the estate has gone on the market since the Percy family staked their claim on the estate in 1332 and the largest single land sale in England for three decades.
An online video promotes the “historic sale” of “one of the most prestigious estates in the UK.” It goes on: “Land with royal links dating back to King Henry VIII. Significant ecological, environmental and natural capital opportunities.
“Peatland, moorland, river, woodland and grassland. A diverse terrain rich in biodiversity and rare species.
“The scope to be part of future food solutions alongside a wealth of country pursuits. All intertwined into the fabric of this breathtaking landscape.”
Lord Max, 32, is the youngest child of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland and grew up in Alnwick Castle - which was used as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films. He started out as an intern at Somerset Capital - the investment management company set up by Jacob Rees-Mogg – before working as an investment analyst in Cape Town, South Africa.
He married Princess Nora of Oettingen-Spielberg, the daughter of Albrecht Ernst, Prince of Oettingen-Oettingen, in 2017.
However the sale has sparked fury from some residents in Rothbury, who say the estate should be “given back to the people”. Independent councillor Steven Bridgett, who represents Rothbury on Northumberland County Council, slammed the proposed sale saying he feared the land would be bought by someone with “more money than sense”.
He said: “Just what we need. More land being flogged off to corporations (usually international), so they can off-set their carbon emissions and generate revenue through the government for planting up areas with trees.
“My fear is that we may see this estate go the same way we have seen many other estates in the south of England and in Wales go - bought up by a business or corporation for tax purposes or by someone with more money than sense, parts of it developed and much of it planted up with trees as a result of government funding priorities.
"Because, by the looks of it, we are all going to be eating bark in the future. There will be no opportunity for the next generation to work the land or help improve the landscape and environment."
Resident Anna Carter, 40, said: “This land should not be owned by anyone other than the people who live here. Aside from the risk of unwanted and damaging developments, how on earth is it right that we live in a time where one person, by accident of birth, can own huge swathes of land so many people depend on?”
Northumberland Estates, which handles the Duke and Duchess’s business interests and property portfolio, insisted their son was conducting a private sale. A spokesperson said: "After much consideration, Lord Max has decided to sell an area of land forming part of the Rothbury Estate to the south of the town.
“All tenants and staff affected by the potential sale have been informed and engagement is being undertaken with all stakeholders to ensure that the sale process is managed appropriately."
