The 2014 survey recorded £82.85m worth of forest property traded between October 2013 and last September. It was a 15% reduction on the total market from the previous report, but showed a continuation of the longer-term trend since 2008 of a rising total market, the company said.
“This year was another busy year for forestry property sales. However, compared with 2013 there was a shortage of prime quality forests and it appears that sellers used the strength of the market to profitably dispose of lower quality properties,” said Jason Sinden, head of investment and property for UPM Tilhill.
“Scotland dominates the commercial forestry market and the independence referendum caused a brief pause in activity. Following the ‘No’ vote, there has been such a flurry of transactions and we already predict that 2015 will set a new record.”
There was also good news for investors as sale prices continued to exceed guide prices, with the average difference around 23% higher.
In England around 17% of transactions were private, off-market sales compared with 21% in Scotland and 8% in Wales.
Most of the forests now being traded were planted between the 1960s and the late 1980s and contain predominantly Sitka spruce.
