Few new properties are coming to the market at the moment, but one exception is Longholes, as fine an equestrian facility as any buyer could hope to find. Penny Churchill takes a look.
The world is upside down right now, but success in the field of Thoroughbred breeding and racing invariably depends on the ability of those involved to take a long-term view.
With that in mind, joint agents Knight Frank and Windsor Clive International have decided to launch Sheikh Fahad Al-Thani’s 217-acre Longholes stud at Cheveley, Newmarket, onto the market via Country Life at a guide price of ‘offers over £6m’ for the whole.
Longholes was founded by Sir George Bullough in the 1920s and passed via his daughter to the Hon John Lambton. Owned since 2013 by Sheikh Fahad’s bloodstock company, the historic stud farm has been developed as a state-of-the-art rehabilitation and pre-training centre for racehorses and sport horses.
It comprises 88 stables arranged in four main groups, with therapy equipment, walkers and lunge rings, a 2½-furlong canter and a six-furlong woodchip gallop.
There are also extensive railed paddocks and about 100 acres of open pasture, which could become a self-contained stud farm, subject to planning consent.
The property also comes with a small string of homes — including the charming Flint Cottage — for manager, owner and staff.
Commenting on the sale, Sheikh Fahad’s racing manager, David Redvers, remarks: ‘Longholes boasts an incredible array of modern facilities, an outstanding team of committed and highly trained professional staff, and a client list that includes many of the most recognised names in horse racing, eventing and showjumping.
‘Sheikh Fahad is proud of what has been achieved at Longholes, but a change in his personal circumstances means that the farm’s exciting future now needs to be in another’s hands.’
Longholes is for sale via Windsor Clive and Knight Frank at £6m for the whole, or £4m for the equestrian facilities and around 90 acres plus a further £2m for the remaining 125 acres — see more details and pictures.
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