"Land reform campaigners are alarmed at the increasing use of a legal loophole that allows landowners to conceal the price paid for Highland estates from the public register. Andy Wightman, a land reform analyst, said the loophole meant the prices paid in more than 300m-worth of Highland property transactions were not disclosed on the register. Discovery Land Company, an Arizona-based luxury resort operator building a Highland resort at Taymouth in Perthshire, used the mechanism when it paid 21.4m in 2022 for the adjacent Glenlyon estate,"
"The commission, set up by Scottish ministers to reform the country's highly concentrated land market, says the tactic does not demonstrate good practice in responsible ownership as it obscures prices, yet is being increasingly used. Transparency in land market data including accurate sales values is vital to provide a robust evidence base to inform sound policy and effective legislation, the commission said."
A legal loophole allows landowners to withhold sale prices for Highland estates from the public land register. Prices for more than £300m of Highland property transactions were not disclosed. Discovery Land Company used the mechanism when it paid £21.4m in 2022 for the Glenlyon estate. Oxygen Conservation withheld that it paid £42.75m for two Scottish estates. The John Muir Trust also used the tactic for purchases at Kylesku totaling £1.805m. Firms involved assert the practice is legal. The Scottish Land Commission and Community Land Scotland say the practice obscures prices, undermines transparency, weakens the evidence base for policy, and should be closed.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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