The UK’s Crown Estate has announced the acquisition of The Dissington Estate in Northumberland.

Dissington had been on the market with a guide price of £18 million.

The estate, eight miles northwest of Newcastle Upon Tyne, consists of five principal holdings and five residential properties, set across 2,552 acres of largely arable land, pasture and woodland.

“This marks The Crown Estate’s first acquisition of a rural estate since 2014, as it begins to put into practice its ambitious new rural strategy, creating long-term value for the industry and wider nation, while delivering on its aims around nature recovery, sustainable food production, net zero and the economy,” said The Crown Estate.

“The organisation’s rural portfolio extends to around 200,000 acres spread across 28 estates throughout England and Wales, including the Windsor Estate.

“Under its new rural strategy, The Crown estate aims to develop closer relationships with its farmers to work together to navigate the challenges facing the industry today, including the UK’s journey to net zero, the need to produce food sustainably and profitably, and the nature and biodiversity crisis.”

Paul Sedgwick, Managing Director of Windsor & Rural at The Crown Estate said: “The acquisition of The Dissington Estate marks a key moment in the delivery of our new rural strategy.

“We are in a unique position to help our farmers prosper in a challenging environment and make a tangible, positive impact on the sustainable future of the sector in the UK.

“We hope this will be the first in a series of strategic acquisitions, allowing us to work in partnership with more farmers across the country.”

Middleton Advisors, Carter Jonas and Burges Salmon acted on behalf of The Crown Estate.