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Insider UK
Business
Peter A Walker

Angus Christmas tree business on sale for £7 million

A Scottish timber business has been put on the market for offers over £7m.

The 584-acre site near at Strathmartine near Dundee hosts Tayside Forestry Christmas Trees, Tayside Forestry Firewood and the Pine Cone Café and gift shop at Auchray Farm.

Brought to the market by Bidwells, a total of 392 acres of arable land is included in the sale.

Each of the three main parts of the company have annual sales of approximately £1m, with more than a million Christmas trees currently planted on the estate.

The land also includes two semi-detached, five-bedroom cottages and workers’ accommodation.

A renewable energy system with two wood-chip boilers heat all the buildings, while a combined heat and power unit produces 50kw of electricity, alongside a solar panel system and a 15kw wind turbine.

The business has been built up over 25 years by owner Brian Hughes, whose father founded it 60 years ago, but he has decided to step back from running it.

Hughes told STV: “I helped my father grow, harvest and sell Christmas trees from the age of 10 and you could say they’re in my blood - it’s been a hard decision for me to put the whole business on the market but the time is right.

“With a focussed person at the helm, there is potential to expand the business further, which is exciting.

“We also have 2,500 firewood customers within a 30-mile radius and we average at least one new customer every day – which is quite incredible, but not surprising really, given the current popularity of wood-burning stoves as an economical heat source.”

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