Crown Estate Scotland generated £9m for the Scottish public purse in its first year of operation, over £3m above target.
The organisation’s first annual report and accounts, published today, outlines a wide-ranging programme of work to deliver wider value for Scotland, including developing a new scheme to promote local management of land and property and designing proposals for new offshore wind leasing.
Crown Estate Scotland manages seabed, rural estates, coastline and other land and property throughout Scotland.
The self-funding public corporation started operation in April 2017 and was required to immediately generate income.
Over the year the team generated over £10m in capital to fund investments in rural estates and offshore renewables and other parts of the Estate, and increased the property value of the Scottish Crown Estate by £48.9m to £324.6m.
The strong performance of the first year has paved the way for long-term success as the organisation prepares to work with Scottish Government to implement the Scottish Crown Estate Bill (approved by Parliament on November 21), growing the Estate’s contribution to public funds and sustainable economic growth.
Financial highlights from the annual report include:
- Net revenue of £9m (against target of £5.9m) paid to Scottish Government. Key factors include higher than anticipated production-based rental income from salmon farming tenants and careful management of costs
- £10.1m raised in capital receipts (target of £10m) for re-investment in the Scottish Crown Estate
- £2.2 invested in rural estates and assets and a further £1m in wider activity to secure revenue and capital growth
Alongside the financial results, the annual report also shows Crown Estate Scotland is working to drive investment and innovation in Scotland’s economy, and provide excellent tenant service.
- Tenant satisfaction at 70% of those surveyed, according to independent research
- Local Asset Management Pilots Scheme: An initiative to enable community bodies and local authorities to manage Scottish Crown Estate land and property. After completing the first stage of the application process, five projects have progressed to stage 2 and a further six are engaged in further discussions.
- Offshore wind leasing: Developed the initial design of a proposed new round of leasing for offshore wind projects in Scottish waters, with input from industry, government and non-governmental organisations.
- Critical mass shellfish project: Commissioned a report which highlighted ways that the sector could benefit from critical mass in the industry and an increase in the scale of projects. The second stage of this work will involve a commercially sized shellfish farm acting as a pilot for implementing how this can be done.
- Rural investment programme: Invested around £2.2m in agricultural fixed equipment, restructuring holdings and forestry across the four rural estates (a further £2.3m is planned for 2018-19)
- The Value Project: Started to develop a framework to assess the wider benefits and value that the Scottish Crown Estate assets deliver for Scotland.
Amanda Bryan, Chair of Crown Estate Scotland, said: “The team are incredibly proud to have been able to pay £9m to Scottish Government, as well as delivering on a range of projects to ensure the land and property we manage benefits businesses, communities and families across Scotland.
“Although the numbers alone are impressive, the wider value we aim to create is just as important. Supporting innovation in renewables, encouraging communities to manage assets, ensuring people can access land to grow their business, secure their future livelihoods, and enjoy Scotland’s environment - all these activities are central to ensuring the Scottish Crown Estate benefits all of Scotland.”
Crown Estate Scotland will be consulting in 2019 on its next three-year corporate plan, including how to best use capital to deliver sustainable socio-economic benefits for Scotland.
In this financial year, since 1 April 2018, Crown Estate Scotland has received £25m capital receipts from offshore wind. The payments arise from offshore wind developments achieving specific project milestones, or undergoing significant restructuring, and are the result of long-term investment by the previous manager of the Crown Estate in Scotland, The Crown Estate.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
A full copy of the annual report can be found here
About Crown Estate Scotland
Crown Estate Scotland (the trading name of Crown Estate Scotland (Interim Management)) manages land and property on behalf of Scottish Ministers. Through working with others, we innovate with land and property to create prosperity for Scotland and its communities. This includes ensuring families, businesses and communities can live, work and thrive on the assets. The business pays all net revenue to the Scottish Government.
Crown Estate Scotland manages:
- 37,000 hectares of rural land with agricultural tenancies, residential and commercial properties and forestry on four rural estates (Glenlivet, Fochabers, Applegirth and Whitehill)
- Rights to fish wild salmon and sea trout in in river and coastal areas
- Rights to naturally-occurring gold and silver across most of Scotland
- Just under half the foreshore around Scotland including 5,800 moorings and some ports and harbours
- Leasing of virtually all seabed out to 12 nautical miles covering some 750 fish farming sites and agreements with cables & pipeline operators
- The rights to offshore renewable energy and gas and carbon dioxide storage out to 200 nautical miles
