REGIONAL ENTITLEMENT TRADING UPDATE 15.3.18 - Townsend Chartered Surveyors

Trading remains strong in the regions as we move rapidly towards the trading deadlines: Scottish farmers and agents in particular should be pressing ahead with any trading as the deadline is the 2^nd April; Welsh and Northern Irish farmers have until the 2^nd May.

Scotland

The Scottish entitlement market is now in full swing, and with only 10 working days left until the close of the season we would encourage those looking to buy or sell entitlements to contact us now, particularly as the Scottish system is still paper-based. Region 1 entitlements have continued to trade at between 1.1-1.3 times face value, however higher prices have been achieved for very small lots. Demand for Region 2 has also picked up as we head through March, with deals being done at between 0.9 and 1.1 times face value. Region 3 remains quiet; however sales are predicted at around face value.

Wales

Prices achieved for Welsh entitlements have dropped slightly since the beginning of trading, with entitlements being sold for as low as 0.6 times face value in some cases. However, the bulk of the trade remains steady at between 0.9 and 1.2 times face value. With only 7 weeks left to go before the end of trading we would encourage Welsh vendors and purchasers to contact us at their earliest convenience.

Northern Ireland

Demand for BPS entitlements remains strong in Northern Ireland, with deals being done at multipliers of between 1.3 and 1.5 times face value. This is expected to rise as we move toward the 2^nd May trading deadline to around 1.6 times face value.