Scottish Land Deals Lying in the Shadows as Wealthy Use Loophole Conceals Billions in Sales Prices
A lucrative loophole used by Scotland's wealthy landowners has raised eyebrows among campaigners, who claim it's being misused to conceal billions-worth of Highland property deals from the public. The mechanism, which allows buyers to avoid putting sales prices on the title deeds and, subsequently, on the public land register, is being used by high-profile firms such as Discovery Land Company and Oxygen Conservation.
According to a report by Andy Wightman, a leading land reform analyst, at least £300m-worth of Highland property transactions have been affected by this loophole. Wightman's latest sales survey found that Oxygen Conservation, one of the UK's largest private landowners, used the mechanism when it purchased two Scottish estates for £42.75m and £75,000.
The use of this loophole has sparked alarm among land reformers, who argue that it undermines efforts to make the land market more transparent. "Transparency in land market data – including accurate sales values – is vital," said Josh Doble of Community Land Scotland. "It's simply unacceptable that those acquiring large pieces of land can obscure transaction details, when any homeowner has to provide that information publicly."
The loophole involves opting out of putting the price paid for the land into the required box on the registration form given to Registers of Scotland. Instead, buyers insert a legal term "implementation of missives" in the box marked "non-monetary consideration". To access the sales prices, interested parties must write to Registers of Scotland and pay a fee.
Critics argue that this tactic is being used by landowners and agents to "consciously conceal" the prices paid. Wightman is now calling on Scottish ministers to amend the law to make it mandatory for sales prices to be put on title deeds.
The Scottish government has said it's investigating options to change the rules, but maintains that Registers of Scotland does not have the power to instruct someone to put the price into the title deeds. However, Wightman remains convinced that this loophole must be tightened up to prevent further abuses.
A lucrative loophole used by Scotland's wealthy landowners has raised eyebrows among campaigners, who claim it's being misused to conceal billions-worth of Highland property deals from the public. The mechanism, which allows buyers to avoid putting sales prices on the title deeds and, subsequently, on the public land register, is being used by high-profile firms such as Discovery Land Company and Oxygen Conservation.
According to a report by Andy Wightman, a leading land reform analyst, at least £300m-worth of Highland property transactions have been affected by this loophole. Wightman's latest sales survey found that Oxygen Conservation, one of the UK's largest private landowners, used the mechanism when it purchased two Scottish estates for £42.75m and £75,000.
The use of this loophole has sparked alarm among land reformers, who argue that it undermines efforts to make the land market more transparent. "Transparency in land market data – including accurate sales values – is vital," said Josh Doble of Community Land Scotland. "It's simply unacceptable that those acquiring large pieces of land can obscure transaction details, when any homeowner has to provide that information publicly."
The loophole involves opting out of putting the price paid for the land into the required box on the registration form given to Registers of Scotland. Instead, buyers insert a legal term "implementation of missives" in the box marked "non-monetary consideration". To access the sales prices, interested parties must write to Registers of Scotland and pay a fee.
Critics argue that this tactic is being used by landowners and agents to "consciously conceal" the prices paid. Wightman is now calling on Scottish ministers to amend the law to make it mandatory for sales prices to be put on title deeds.
The Scottish government has said it's investigating options to change the rules, but maintains that Registers of Scotland does not have the power to instruct someone to put the price into the title deeds. However, Wightman remains convinced that this loophole must be tightened up to prevent further abuses.
. It's like they're playing some kind of sneaky game with public info. I mean, what's the point of even having a land register if they can just gloss over the prices? It's not right that anyone can just opt out of sharing the details and make it hard for people to keep track of who owns all this land. It's like they're trying to keep us in the dark 
. And what really gets me is that they're using some fancy loophole to do it, like they're speaking a different language or something 
. The whole thing just stinks and needs to be sorted out ASAP.
it's like, if i wanted to buy a house, the price would be public info, but these guys get to just put 'implementation of missives' or whatever and hide it from everyone? 
, I mean what's wrong with being transparent? If you're buying a multi-million pound estate, shouldn't everyone know how much it cost? It's just shady business practices as far as I'm concerned 
. I don't get why they can just opt out of putting the price on the title deeds, that's just cheating imo 
.
transparentneess in the land market is key, every homeowner gotta be on par with them, but these rich ppl evadin it. 
. And what's with these high-profile firms like Discovery Land Company and Oxygen Conservation? They're basically getting away with stuff 
I mean, what's the point of owning a huge chunk of land if you're not going to be transparent about how much it's worth? It's like they think we're all just going to sit back and let them get away with it! 
But seriously, it's not right that people can just opt out of putting the prices on the title deeds. That's like hiding a big secret from everyone! 
. The fact that some campaigners are calling on Scottish ministers to amend the law to make it mandatory for sales prices to be put on title deeds is a step in the right direction 
. We need more scrutiny and oversight of these transactions, especially when it comes to land ownership and the impact it has on communities and the environment 
.
. I'm not sure what's more alarming - the fact that they're hiding this info or that some people think it's okay to do so 
.
. Maybe we can learn from their mistakes and create a more open system for land transactions 
. Like, I get it, there's a need for transparency in land sales, but it feels like these rich folks are just using the system to keep their wealth even more under wraps 
. I hope the Scottish government steps in and gets this sorted out, but it's hard not to feel skeptical given how long these issues have been simmering beneath the surface 
it was only £5! I mean, think about it, some people are trying to hide billions of pounds worth of land deals, but a dude can find a sweet vintage record for five quid... that's like, what's more valuable, land or a good record?
£300m is a lot of cash! 
.
. To access the sales prices, interested parties must write to Registers of Scotland and pay a fee... which is just another way for these big players to keep their dirty dealings under wraps 
. With £300m-worth of Highland property deals at stake, something needs to be done to tighten up this loophole ASAP 
? That's straight-up shady 
Land reformers are onto something 
. It's time for those landowners to come clean and give us the lowdown on what they're really paying for these estates 
. We need stricter laws and more accountability for these big players in the land market 
.
the fact that even registers of scotland have to charge a fee just to get access to the info is just another layer of red tape 