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23/09/2025
Felixstowe
Wouldn't it be cheaper to buy some land and dig a lake?
Possibly, but coming across land on the market with the right potential is very difficult. The land has to be suitable physically i.e. able to hold water and have the benefit of a suitable water supply. It also has to be in a place where planning permission for the construction of a lake will be granted. The planners will examine issues such as the scale of the project, access, highways and how the proposal fits with stated local objectives. Furthermore, consent from the Environment Agency has to be given which can be difficult to obtain. The risk then is in buying land with no planning permission / Environment Agency consents. Even once you had the land and necessary permission you would still have considerable construction costs, stocking costs and be several years from generating income from the site.
How have you valued a fishery?
We have kept extensive records of various fisheries that have been sold both on and off market going back over 20 years. This enables us to value fisheries on comparative evidence (as houses are valued). Where a fishery is producing an income, or has the potential to, this will be taken into account and valued along investment principles. Other factors such as prevailing economic conditions, the attractiveness of a site or the value of the different components (house, holiday lets, farmland, woodland etc) will have been taken into account. Salmon rivers are normally valued on a value per fish basis.
What is a guide price?
This is the price level around which we are inviting purchasers to make their offer.
What does SSTC mean?
Sold Subject to Contract- this means an offer has been made which is attractive to the vendor who has then accepted the offer. The purchaser's solicitor will be making enquires about the property and the purchaser will be organising their finance. Once both the buyers' and vendors' solicitors are happy to proceed and the purchaser has secured the necessary funds, a contract will be signed so that the vendor has to then sell to the purchaser who has to then buy. Once a contract has been signed the completion will follow when the consideration (money) is handed over and the ownership is officially transferred. Once an offer has been accepted (SSTC) the property will be taken off the market and no further viewing carried out. Details of any other interested parties will be retained and they will be informed if the property comes back onto the market.
Can you send me the accounts of a business?
Where a fishery / business has been trading and there are accounts available, these will be made available to seriously interested parties. This will usually mean that you have visited the property and met either the owner or us.
How do I raise finance to buy a fishery?
Specialist skills and knowledge are often required to successfully raise finance on fisheries. Many people try to raise the finance themselves through high street lenders. Often they find that these lenders view fisheries as an unknown quantity and may be reluctant to lend substantial sums against them, as they have no specific credit policy guidelines on this sector. It is important to approach the right part of lenders in order to get to underwriters who have knowledge of, and are comfortable in funding, fisheries. We have found that the funding of fisheries is usually a much smoother process where applicants use the services of professionals who have specialist skills and knowledge of raising fishery finance. We have ongoing relationships with certain such professionals and will be pleased to put you in touch.