I am selling my farm in the UK and moving to France. The property I have in mind has several acres of farmland included in the price, and I am in negotiation with the tenants about purchasing their equipment. How far would my money go over there? My farm sold for £800,000.

LMY, Devon

Because of problems in the British farming industry, we have noticed a growing number of inquiries of this nature. The prospect of a more reliable climate and vastly bigger government and European Union subsidies – not to mention huge areas of viable and relatively cheap farmland – has made France the destination of choice for many younger semi-retired British farmers. Indeed, it is regarded as the cheapest country in western Europe in which to farm, with land available for considerably less than it costs elsewhere.

One client traded sterling into €80,000, which covered the purchase of a farmhouse (albeit a dilapidated one). Although little land was included in the price, there were surrounding areas of viable farmland available either for rent or purchase – a French government stipulation designed to aid the valuable agricultural industry over there.

Your £800,000 will generate almost €1.15m when the current rate of about €1.43 is applied. That amount of money, in an industry that is crying out for more farmers (even if they are not French), will go a long way.

Not all of our clients have quite this amount of sterling to play with, obviously. If you are under 35, you can claim young farmers’ subsidies.

Despite the staggering amount of red tape there is to navigate when moving to France and setting up a new business, more people are willing to go, for the simple reason that their money goes further. British farmers are usually able to put away a sizeable nest egg from the sale of their UK farm, which can tide them over in the initial years or mean that they can afford to semi-retire and farm for enjoyment.

William Collins is a senior dealer at Baydonhill, a foreign-exchange company; www.baydonhill.com

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