Who Owns Britain

More than a third of Britain’s land is still in the hands of a tiny group of aristocrats. 36,000 individuals – only 0.6 per cent of the population – own 50 per cent of rural land.

Their assets account for 20million out of Britain’s 60million acres of land, and the researchers estimate that the vast majority is actually owned by a wealthy core of just 1,200 aristocrats and their relatives. The top ten individual biggest owners control a staggering total of more than a million acres between them.

The top private landowner, not just in Britain but Europe, is the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensbury, whose four sumptuous estates cover 240,000 acres in England and Scotland.

The most valuable land belongs to the Duke of Westminster, whose Grosvenor Estate, worth a whopping £6billion, takes in the wealthiest areas of London, including Belgravia and Mayfair.

The Duke of Atholl’s 145,700 acres have pushed Prince Charles, who as Duke of Cornwall has 133,000 acres, into third place on the list of individual owners.

2.5million acres – 4 per cent of the country – is in the hands of the Government-run Forestry Commission. Second on the list is the fast-expanding National Trust, with 630,000 acres.

Kevin Cahill, who has been researching land ownership for ten years, told the Daily Mail: “A small minority still own a huge amount of Britain’s land and what surprises many people is that over the last 100 years, not a lot has changed. For the rich the pursuit of land is as important as it’s ever been. They receive subsidies and most of their assets are held in trust, avoiding inheritance tax.”


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