AN award-winning, diversified farming business, in an accessible location close to Edinburgh, has just hit the market.

Whitmuir Farm is centred on a purpose-built organic farm shop and retail business which boasts one of the widest ranges of organic food and produce in Scotland, and an 80-seater café.

The property has an attractive farmhouse, a wide range of modern and traditional farm buildings and about 56.27 hectares (139.04 acres) of productive farmland and woodland. The organic business has generated an average annual turnover of £680,000 in recent years.

Duncan Barrie of Galbraith said: “This presents a rare opportunity to acquire an established rural business with a loyal clientele and following located in an accessible location to the south of Edinburgh. The current owners have created an award-winning diversified business which is noted for its environmental credentials and has become a destination in itself.

“The purchasers would have the opportunity to continue the existing enterprise or further develop some of the buildings and site if desired, and subject to the necessary consents, whilst benefitting from the private and recently modernised on-site accommodation, offered by the impressive Georgian style farmhouse set amidst beautiful surroundings overlooking the Pentland Hills.”

Whitmuir Farmhouse is a traditional country house with many period features providing well-proportioned and attractive accommodation including five bedrooms and four reception rooms. The farmhouse benefits from an attractive and extensive garden, with views over surrounding countryside to the north.

Adjacent to the farmhouse set around a traditional courtyard there is a range of outbuildings including various stores, a workshop, a purpose-built butchery with kitchen, processing rooms, office and storage space and a barn which is currently let to an antiques dealer. The courtyard buildings present the opportunity for re-development or for conversion to additional accommodation, subject to obtaining the necessary planning and building consents.

In 2009, the current owners opened a new 500m2 eco-friendly building, with sheep wool insulation, solar thermal panels and a ground source heat pump which currently hosts the farm shop, restaurant and antiques shop. This purpose-built modern farm shop and café has been carefully designed and built to a sustainable, environmentally friendly specification.

The farm shop and retail space are complemented by a spacious and attractive organic café which has been serving local artisan produce for almost 12 years. There is further potential to expand with a number of ancillary stores and a separate room used as a gallery. The site benefits from an extensive area of car parking and signposted farm walks, and the cafe has also been used as a venue for weddings, concerts and other private parties.

Adjacent to the shop there is an area of ground which is leased to a plant nursery, generating an additional income stream. There are also roof-mounted 50kW solar panels which supply the new building offsetting much of the power used in the summer months and generating a further income stream.

The current owners acquired Whitmuir Farm in 2000. They have been farming organically for 20 years and sell their meat, soft fruit and veg through the farm shop and via a delivery service. They also run a range of educational events and have hosted international food and farming related events in the past.

In addition to the traditional farm buildings and the shop, there is a range of modern buildings including store sheds, a caddy store, modern cattle courts, six polytunnels, and a Keder House, with over half an acre in total of protected cropping. Adjacent to the polytunnels there is an orchard and further vegetable growing area, plus a set of beehives, which are operated by a beekeeper.

The farmland at Whitmuir Farm is split into several enclosures but lies in a single ring-fenced block. The land has been classified as Grade 4.2 and 5.1/5.2 by The James Hutton Institute and is well suited to grazing and fodder production. The farmland is serviced by an internal farm track which leads south from the farm steading to the top of the hill providing a good level of field-to-field access to almost every enclosure.

The woodland areas comprise a mixture of commercial and amenity trees and several new woodland areas have been sympathetically planted over the last 21 years improving the level of shelter and also adding other environmental benefits.