UK Land investment

The History of Land Investment

Land Investment is not a new phenomenon. Significant wealth has been created through Land Investment by individuals who understood the concept of buying and holding investment land in the path of growth.

Investing in land is well established in America, and is a fast growing industry as a result of the housing boom in recent years. Land Investment is now becoming popular in the UK. English land presents considerable opportunities to generate returns, most obviously in residential development but also in commercial and industrial developments. The challenge now-and it was ever thus-lies in sourcing good quality investment land.

UK Land Investment has historically been the preserve of high net worth individuals, financial institutions and land professionals. For these groups the acquisition of agricultural and green belt investment land is a well-practised art. But it is not just these groups who amass UK land ahead of development – supermarkets and other retailers also buy and hold English land in anticipation of its higher future value.

Moreover, the powerful 20th century controls on UK land development – most notably, green belt restrictions – have created a 21st century housing crisis. Whilst some say that the preservation of large tracts of agricultural English land is paramount, others point to the economic and political damage that a widespread and prolonged housing crisis causes.

Indeed, as you will discover as you peruse this website, the UK government has responded to the failure to build sufficient homes on English land by addressing the planning regime. As a result, UK land investments are becoming ever more popular.

Recent history shows that investing in land is as attractive to the private investor as it is to the large scale developer or financial institution. However, an appreciation of the changing nature of UK land planning and development is important in land investment.

The planning and development process (which is where the value creation lies investing in land) is commonly described as being lots of small steps, then a giant leap to attain re-allocation or ‘change of use’. Throughout the history of UK land investment, the groups and individuals who have profited most from English land have understood this key land investment principle.

Property itself remains a popular UK investment although much of the opportunity for capital growth in this cycle would appear to have passed. However, UK land investments, whilst rarely providing yield, can offer very substantial capital growth in the medium term.

With the emergence of companies offering managed UK land Investment, and the strength of the UK property market, the opportunity to participate in strategic land investment has never been greater. A balanced portfolio of UK investments commonly now contains a portion of UK land.

In fact, unlike at any point in history, UK land investment is open to the private investor. With a dose of common sense and the 12 guidelines for land investment when choosing their investment land, the private investor can benefit from very substantial land investment gains.

With the changing planning framework, an existing housing shortfall, and political pressure to build many new homes during the next decade and beyond, UK land is now a compelling proposition for all value-hungry investors.

UK investments across all asset classes have tended to be strong in cycles: English land has consistently performed well across the decades and indeed down the centuries. Entry points for land investment are usually around £10,000 with some UK land investment providers projecting a 4/5 year project cycle and returns greater than 400%.

History has been generous with those who have focused their resources on land investment. All the fundamentals (i.e. social patterns and economic trends) as well as anecdotal evidence suggest land investment will be just as lucrative in the future for the canny investor as it has been in the past.