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The House of Lords Horticulture Sector report was published in November 2023, with the government response received in February 2024. The report included 93 specific recommendations from many trade bodies, including comment from the NFU, ahead of the government’s response. In particular, these suggested greater focus on the sector through a cross departmental working group and longer-term strategy. In May, we saw the UK Farm to Fork summit which discussed some of the issues raised and focused on increasing UK fresh produce to improve food security. Within two months of this, the change of government has led to questions over where policy will now focus. With limited references to horticulture within Labour’s manifesto, there’s a feeling of uncertainty for the sector.
Horticulture Week’s biggest issues for the sector this year, published in January, ranked the inflation/
economy at number one, extreme weather/climate change at number two, peat free at number three and recruitment at number four. Automation and digitisation ranked at number eight and nine, but so
far signs are good that the industry is getting to grips with these challenges and enticing new entrants to the sector through doing so.
The area around Chichester in West Sussex is renowned for being one of the country’s main growing areas. A number of glasshouse businesses are located there and they take advantage of the good road access, mild climate and in particular strong sunlight levels due to its southeast location and proximity to the sea. Leythorne Nurseries is one of the sites located in this area. The site comprises a series of glasshouses with associated storage and distribution facilities on a mixed horticultural, food production and commercial estate.
Leythorne North Glasshouses comprise the northeast sector of the overall estate and has been operated by The Summer Berry Company UK since 2019. The glasshouses adjoining the Leythorne North site to the west and south are operated by Fresca and are currently used for leafy salad production. The southern part of the Leythorne site is also occupied by The Summer Berry Company UK and includes 18 hectares (44.5 acres) of adjoining glasshouses, but is separate in location from the Leythorne North Glasshouses. Following a strategic review, The Summer Berry Company UK has invested significantly in their glasshouse offering, including an energy and heat network that covered the entire southern area but did not extend beyond the adjoining glasshouses to Leythorne North. The company has therefore instructed Savills to offer The Leythorne North Glasshouses for sale.
Leythorne North Glasshouses offers roughly 26 acres comprising four blocks of glass, office, workshop and car park. The site has recently been used to grow strawberries but offers versatile glass of good height and varying ages, which would suit a variety of crops and plants. The four glasshouses combined extend to circa 920,247 sq ft (85,494 sq m), and the property has been brought to market with a guide price of £4.5 million (including the equipment inventory). The sector sees limited sales of such extensive sites, so this offers an opportunity for an established or new operator to get an immediate start, in a premises valued far below current build costs – which remain extremely high.