Britain’s oldest trout farm for sale through Fenn Wright
We are East Anglia’s leading, independently owned partnership of chartered surveyors, estate agents and property consultants, with a reputation for providing the highest level of client care. However Fenn Wright don’t just specialise in selling and letting houses and commercial premises, our Water & Leisure team are expert at selling fisheries, lakes and properties with water throughout the UK.
Set in 13.8 acres (5.5 ha) of one of the most beautiful Cotswolds valleys, Bibury Trout Farm and Visitor Centre in the Coln Valley, was originally created to stock local rivers and streams with native brown trout by naturalist Arthur Severn in 1902. Today, Bibury Trout Farm is regarded as one of the oldest and most attractive trout farms in Britain.
The very first visitors were welcomed in 1965, and since then, the trout farm has evolved into a flourishing and profitable business and thriving visitor centre under the direction and management of the current owner, who acquired the trout farm in 2001. After 17 years of ownership and development, the business is now one of the country’s leading fish farms, receiving over 53,000 visitors in 2017, with many more visiting the shop and café.
The accommodation within the trout farm includes a Grade II Listed traditional barn conversion arranged over three floors providing living accommodation on the two upper floors. The ground floor is currently being used for storage. This four bedroom, two bathroom, south-facing Shoecroft Barn is perfectly placed overlooking the fish farm. A planning application has been approved under the current ownership to convert the ground floor workshops so that they can be incorporated into the main house. With a site extending to 7 acres (2.8 ha), Shoecroft Barn is available with Bibury Trout Farm and visitor centre, or as a separate lot.
The farm is well positioned on an island between the River Coln and the Millrace, serving five main waters at the heart of the site, fully aerated, alongside a series of rearing ponds connected by feeder channels with sluice gates and an overflow to the Millrace. It borders open fields with reaching rural views and an established woodland through which the river flows.
Primarily a working farm, breeding and rearing up to 80 tonnes of high-quality Rainbow and Brown Trout each year to stock recreational fisheries. Bibury Trout can also be found on the menu of many local pubs and restaurants and are sold at local farmers markets anywhere from Stroud to East Oxford. The hatchery also has Global Gap, Freedom Foods and RSPCA accreditation.
Part of the attraction of the Bibury Trout Farm is not only seeing the water come alive as the fish are being fed, or the numerous ducks, swans, kingfishers, geese and other wildlife, including the rare water vole, but to visit the popular café and gift shop. Conveniently located on the south west corner of the farm alongside the main road which runs through the quintessential village and reached via a timber bridge over the Millrace. The building itself is mainly built of Cotswold natural stone under a Cotswold stone tiled roof with a timber extension to the rear and veranda overlooking the water. The layout includes a fresh fish counter, retail area and cold store with an office and storage above. The café is a small timber lodge, overlooking a pretty terrace with marquees and used for additional seating during the warmer months.
This renowned and profitable business is being offered for sale through Fenn Wright and Tom Good, Chartered Surveyor said: “It has been identified that there is the possibility to restructure the business in the future with the potential to scale down the fish farm production and simplify the business model. A number of the buildings on the site may have development potential. A pre-application has been submitted to Cotswold District Council to assess a number of possibilities for the property. The centre of the fish farm opposite Shoecroft Barn, subject to planning and the appropriate consents from the Environment Agency, could be re-landscaped to create a conservation or fishing lake.
“Permission is currently being sought to extend the car park to provide an additional 27 spaces including 5 disabled spaces and the western end of the fish farm has been earmarked for potential to be re-landscaped and developed for increasingly popular glamping holidays.”
Available as a whole or in two lots. Shoecroft Barn – offers in excess of £1.1m, BiburyTrout Farm and Visitor Centre – offers in excess of £900,000.
For more information or to arrange a viewing, please get in touch with Tom Good.