Milton Keynes company announces £42m record sale of land in village near Bedford

Dawsongroup, a Tongwell based group of companies specialising in the supply of commercial assets, has completed the sale of a parcel of land for £42m.
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The sale is thought to be a record sale per acre outside the M25 for land classified as B1/B8. The land measures 14.70 acres and is located just outside Brogborough village at Junction 13 of the M1.

Freya Dawson, property director at Dawsongroup, led the deal, securing a sale of nearly £3million per acre of land.

Originally purchased as agricultural land, the current average value for prime arable land in Bedfordshire, is around £10,725 per acre.

Freya Dawson of Dawson Group, Tongwell, which has announced a £42million record land dealFreya Dawson of Dawson Group, Tongwell, which has announced a £42million record land deal
Freya Dawson of Dawson Group, Tongwell, which has announced a £42million record land deal

After obtaining a B1/B8 change of use with planning permission and the subsequent competitive bidding process, the company realised a staggering 27,972% increase in price per acre.

Peter Dawson, Dawsongroup chairman, originally bought approximately 70 acres of agricultural land in the early 1970s for around £45,000. Due to its close proximity to the M1, Mr Dawson saw the purchase as an investment with future potential.

In 2008, Highways England compulsory purchased a section of land down the middle of the site separating it into three parcels on one side, and one on the other.

The company planned to develop its new headquarters on the single parcel as it was expected this would be the most likely of the sites to fall under employment land given its location.

In 2016, Ms Dawson began the planning process to seek approval to build the new headquarters, securing planning permission in July 2020.

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