Walk & Talk: Thinking Outside the Box - A case study on Diversification at Balcaskie Estate

Venue:  Bowhouse, St Monans, East Neuk, St Monans KY10 2DB ·

With onward movement to Balcormo and Comielaw, KY10 2RE

With an ever challenging financial landscape, landowners are being asked to diversify their business models and embrace resilience and sustainability.

Rather than create new business streams within Balcaskie, the estate chose to become a platform which could support the growth of SMEs locally. It has done this through an innovative new scheme launched in 2021 called Pitch Up! which invites businesses each year to present their ideas to make use of rural land and work collaboratively within an existing business community, benefiting from potential investment, shared expertise and marketing opportunities. By acting as landlord to these businesses, the risks have been managed out while what has been created is a truly diverse business activity in this part of rural Fife, home now to around 45 businesses. This approach maintains the estate tradition of anchoring local community, supporting employment and housing and finding new use for the estate buildings which secures their future thereby maintaining the fabric of the estate while creating a vibrant rural hub.

The team at Balcaskie Estate, led by Manager Sam Parsons, will welcome members to Bowhouse for an insight to this novel engagement model supporting Start-Up and SMEs locally. In response to land reform and social integration of the estate, Balcaskie has encouraged more businesses to become resident in re-purposed buildings and land, helping to demonstrate how estate ownership can benefit its communities while achieving its objectives.

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