Welcome to The Rural Report 2020

Each year this publication takes the long view and offers thought leadership about the future of the rural economy and property sector. Never in our lifetimes could this be more important. Nor have we been given more time to challenge assumptions. A decade after we first launched The Rural Report radical change is upon us.

In 2010 we saw strong investment in farmland as markets began their slow rebuilding process after the financial crash. Today, the biological shock of Covid-19 is dramatically effecting the entire global economy. How economic recovery will look in 2021 and beyond is uncertain. Real assets such as land, however, increasingly have their attractions to investors.

Change was upon us in any event. Whether regulatory as we leave the EU, or climatically as the UK responds to growing political and societal concern, through changing trade conditions or via technological advances and land use practices. Disruption with a capital D!

The demands on our land increase with each decade. Carbon sequestration and  assessment of natural capital feature in this report. Forestry has new impetus as an alternative land use. This plays well to the long-term outlook of so many Knight Frank clients and is a new service offering.

But no business should be immune from scrutiny of its component parts, our own included. Summer 2020 will be remembered for those who looked under the bonnet and made their own changes, and those who awaited events.

We at Knight Frank enjoy helping our clients strategically review their businesses in an independent and collaborative way, and  I  am sure this edition of The Rural Report will provide food for thought. Tom Heathcote’s Five Cs: They key ingredients for long-term strategic planning, is particularly thought-provoking.

Never waste a crisis is the mantra. Meanwhile land will continue to provide many new and exciting opportunities.

Please do get in touch.

Ross Murray & Clive Hopkins