Did you know that we offer a professional service dedicated to Water & Leisure properties?
We believe that Fenn Wright is probably the only firm of Chartered Surveyors in the UK specialising in the sale of fisheries, lakes and waterside properties. Here we introduce you to Fisheries4sale.com – a dedicated property portal brought to you by Fenn Wright’s Water & Leisure property experts.
Martin Freeman, Partner at Fenn Wright, has been specialising in the sale of fisheries for over 20 years having managed Fenn Wright’s rural division since 1990. Having found a niche specialising in water and leisure properties, Martin has developed this part of the business, dealing with all aspects of sales, valuations, professional services and planning.
Martin said “I enjoy working with such a diverse range of clients based throughout the UK and my keen interest in fishing and water sports has played a big part in establishing ourselves within the fisheries market.”
Tom Good, who joined Fenn Wright in 2011 and was recently promoted to Associate Partner, is an expert in this specialist area having qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in Aquaculture and Fisheries Management; Tom has previous experience in fisheries and fish farming.
We offer a full range of services to our clients, including:
Valuation
Over the past 20 years we have collated a unique set of data relating to the valuation of water and leisure properties; this enables us to provide knowledgeable, market-led valuations on fisheries, lakes, and waterside businesses. In addition, we regularly analyse business accounts and gather information on rents.
We offer a range of valuations to suit our clients’ requirements such as market appraisals, red book valuations, rental valuations and desktop valuations for agents.
We also value assets such as; still water coarse and trout fisheries, fishing rights, rivers, reservoirs, fish farms, water sports lakes, residential properties with lakes and water frontage, leisure properties with water, including holiday accommodation, parks, caravan sites and log cabin developments, restored and unrestored mineral workings.
Planning permission
Almost every water-based leisure property will require planning permission to some extent, whether a fishery, sailing club, holiday accommodation or water sports venue. Usually planning is required for change of use, new buildings, dwellings and construction or excavation of water.
We are actively involved in advising and assisting clients with planning applications, whether it be for existing properties or new dwellings, preparing Dwelling House Appraisals.
Expert Witness
We are regularly instructed to prepare expert reports, attend planning appeals and court in relation to fisheries and associated property.
The most frequent instruction is either to act as an independent or joint expert in the valuation of property for matrimonial purposes. Fenn Wright has probably the largest database of comparable evidence in the country and are, therefore, well placed to prepare these specialist valuations.
We have also been appointed to assess the diminution in value of fisheries as a result of events such as pollution and hydro-electric schemes.
Rent reviews and lease renewals
It is our experience that rents can vary enormously for the same type of property. Many rents have been set historically and are subject to indexation, which may not reflect the true market rent. We have built up a comprehensive database of rental values for all types of water over the years, which is extremely helpful in advising our clients whether they be landlords or tenants.
Consultancy
One of the benefits of visiting over 100 properties a year is that we are able to give guidance to owners on a range of issues. Some of the most common topics include: fishery design, management appraisals, landscaping, fish diseases, fish stock assessment and mineral excavation.
Tom Good, Chartered Surveyor added: “With our recently revamped property portal Fisheries4Sale and extensive market knowledge, we are very well placed to help owners market and showcase their waterside property to potential buyers.
“A recent new instruction is Britain’s oldest and most attractive trout farm in the heart of the Cotswolds – Bibury Trout Farm and Visitor Centre. The renowned and profitable business was originally created to stock the local rivers and streams with native brown trout by naturalist Arthur Severn in 1902. Since then, the trout farm has evolved into a flourishing and profitable business with thriving visitor centre. Today, the business is one of the country’s leading fish farms, receiving over 53,000 visitors in 2017, with many more visiting the shop and café.”