Lifestyle buyers and private buyers are snapping up increasing amounts of UK agricultural land , according to estate agents Strutt and Parker . The study revealed farmers made up 51 % of buyers during H1 2017 , compared with 68 % during the same period in 1998 . The southeast is the most affected region , where lifestyle investors and private buyers outnumber farmers by two to one . Farmland is not subject to inheritance tax , while a country owner with land is liable to a capped stamp duty of only 5 % . Farmers bought 68 per cent of the holdings for sale in 1998 but they bought only 51 per cent of those sold in the first six months of this year, according to research by the estate agents Strutt and Parker. George Dunn , the chairman of the Tenant Farmers Association , called the tax breaks a " scandalous " perk .
Lifestyle buyers and private buyers are snapping up increasing amounts of UK agricultural land , according to estate agents Strutt and Parker . The study revealed farmers made up 51 % of buyers during H1 2017 , compared with 68 % during the same period in 1998 . The southeast is the most affected region , where lifestyle investors and private buyers outnumber farmers by two to one . Farmland is not subject to inheritance tax , while a country owner with land is liable to a capped stamp duty of only 5 % . George Dunn , the chairman of the Tenant Farmers Association , called the tax breaks a " scandalous " perk .