MEMBER PROFILE
SELLING MEMORIES AT BENMORE ESTATE Estate owner Tim Radford has shaped a profitable eco-business based on the vision of harnessing natural assets – the rain, the sea and the forest. Stef Kaiser meets him on the Isle of Mull.
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panning over 14,000 hectares of wilderness, Benmore Estate on the Isle of Mull benefits from a diversity in natural assets – from shores to glens, old oak woodlands and commercial forests, hills and lowlands. And Tim Radford and his committed team have shown how to turn the land into a vibrant, profitable business based on what nature has to offer.
Benmore estate owner Tim Radford
Making forestry work on the estate
Building a diversified rural business model When Tim bought the estate 20 years ago, it was unmaintained and didn’t generate any significant income streams. “I used to come here as a child, but the estate had been run down and didn’t offer more than a sporting playground for the rich. I saw a wonderful opportunity to breathe new life into the estate and convert it into a vibrant and profitable rural business.” At the time, Mull’s popularity as a nature and wildlife tourist destination had started to increase, but there was very limited housing stock, so the obvious first step was to invest in over 20 derelict properties to make them marketable to visitors. Tim and his team then quickly built a whole package of activities around the cottages and main house: walking, stalking, wildlife watching, fishing, boating and sailing and so forth. “We quickly realised the value of our holiday proposition: stunning nature, Scottish heritage, outdoor activities, disconnecting from modern life, freedom for the whole family, contemporary accommoda-
the local fish farming community, renegotiating leases and diversifying into film production, catering and raising additional income from location fees and services for crews. There was one significant estate asset that remained unharnessed. It was time to integrate trees into the business model.
tion and a team providing a sense of vibrant community. This year, Benmore Estate has seen its busiest year with an estimated turnover of about £3million. The next strand in Tim’s business strategy was centered around maritime activities and the flagship boat The Benmore Lady. However, water was to play an even bigger role in the overall business model. Rain is plentiful on Mull and the Benmore team saw it as an opportunity to harness rather than an inconvenience. In 2013, the estate’s own hydroelectricty plant went live, capturing the water coming off Ben More and feeding it into the grid. Today, it generates around 25% of the estate’s income. Exploring additional business opportunities beyond hospitality and sporting, the team started building relationships with
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Forestry was the last activity to be integrated into Tim’s business model, simply because nobody had any prior experience with it. The estate came with over 300 hectares of natural but unmanaged oak forest, with no commercial but high amenity value. Three years ago, Land and Forest Scotland offered Tim and his team five commercial blocks that had been planted in the 1980’s and were soon coming to harvest. With the financial prospect of thousands of hectares of Sitka spruce waiting to be brought to market and advice from forestry partner, Highfield Forestry, a plan emerged to plant the biggest new forest in Scotland over the next 50 years. The monoculture blocks would be felled over the next 10 years and the entire landscape be redesigned. After clearfelling the mature Sitka blocks, native woodland would then run all the way down to the Glen, creating a much more connected ecosystem. The commercial crops will be planted on better drained land, away from the river and near access routes. The revitalisation of the riperian zone will bring the now bare Glen back to its former glory, with the planned planting of
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