Who Owns North Glenbuchat Estate?
The above image was taken in 2014 in connection with a police raid at that time.
On 2 May 2025, Police Scotland issued the following statement.
Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with wildlife offences following enquiries into the death of red kites in the Strathdon area of Aberdeenshire in February, 2025.
The men, aged 39 and 42, will be reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
It is my understanding that the offences referred to are connected to the North Glenbuchat Estate. This would not be the first time that wildlife offences have taken place on this property. See a list of suspicious disappearances of protected raptor species on the estate in this blog by Raptor Persecution UK
The offences reported on 2 May are now the subject of live criminal proceedings and so any comments that prejudice them will be removed from this blog.
What I want to focus on here instead is who actually owns North Glenbuchat Estate. This is important as a general matter of public interest but also because under Section 18A of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the owners of estates where wildlife crimes have been committed may be found to be vicariously liable in certain circumstances. If there is a successful prosecution in this case (and for the avoidance of doubt there is not), then a question will arise as to whether there is also evidence of vicarious liability.
In order for any such offence to be considered, the identity of those who have the right to kill wild birds or to manage the exercise of such a right ends to be established. Such persons can include estate agents and other employees of an estate but will invariably also included the owner who employs the person who has committed any offence.
So who owns North Glenbuchat Estate?
I investigated this question back in a blog back in 2014. The owner is not in question – it is a company called North Glen Estates Ltd. registered at PO Box 171, Bristol House, The Centre, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, TKCA 1ZZ.
But who is the person behind that company?
In my 2014 blog I set out the evidence that it was George Ivar Louis Mountbatten, the 4th Marquess of Milford Haven who, a year earlier, had become a new member of Scottish Land and Estates whilst claiming to represent North Glenbuchat Estate.
Back in 2014, it was only possible to piece together various bits of evidence that pointed towards the person exercising control of North Glen Estates Ltd. There was no legal duty to disclose this information.
Since then, two new transparency regimes have been established. The first is the Register of Overseas Entities established under Part I of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022. It came into force on 1 August 2022 and requires the registration (with Companies House) of the beneficial owners of overseas companies that own land in the UK.
However, the duty applies only to land that was acquired after 8 December 2014 (North Glenbuchat was acquired in 2007). I won’t get into the rationale for this but I questioned it at the time the Act was being debated in quite a rush in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine. Scottish Ministers gave flawed advice to the UK Government in my view but that is a topic to be revisited on another occasion.
The other transparency regime is the Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land.
Introduced under Part 3 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016, it requires anyone who controls the decisions of an owner (which includes overseas entities, trusts, partnerships and unincorporated associations) to disclose the recorded person (legal owner) and associates (those who control the owner) on the Register. Since 1 April 2024, failure to do this is an offence under para 10 (8) and 10(10) of the regulations.
North Glen Estates Ltd. is a recorded person that falls within the scope of the regulations as is not subject to any of the exemptions under Schedule 2. There should therefore be an entry in the Register of the beneficial owners of the company. But no such entry has been made. Check for yourself.
The Land Register titles for the estate are ABN79509 and ABN76432. Enter them and no results are found.
Enter “Glenbuchat” – nothing. “Mountbatten” reveals nothing either.
North Glen Estates Ltd. has failed to comply with the law and has committed an offence. I have reported this offence to Police Scotland and will update this blog with any developments.
I will soon publish a guest blog revealing a previous attempt to report this offence in relation to another landowner.
Meanwhile a source informs me that the estate is no longer controlled by George Mountbatten but by his son, Henry Mountbatten, the Earl of Medina. Henry, who lives in Knightsbridge, London, may like to take legal advice about his responsibilities under the law of Scotland.
Such a twisted and devious trail. Well done for refusing to be misled. It’s time that the Scottish Government investigated these so called ‘owners’ of our land some of whom appear to live anywhere but Scotland and couldn’t care less about the wonderful wildlife of Scotland, merely looking at it as profit in their investment portfolio. Any misconduct or refusal to acknowledge details of ownership should be rewarded by their land tax tripled or having a compulsory purchase notice slapped on it immediately. Plus an investigation into how they acquired it in the first place. Time we shone a torch into some dark places.
So glad there are people willing to chase after these morons who should NEVER be allowed to own any part of Scotland.. Thank you to all the hard working folk who expose this buying and selling of Scotland like a commodity by a hidden few. . Congratulations to all.
Once again we’re grateful to you for the research, that is probably too complicated for the average police constable or fiscal!
How many times have we heard owners of large estates declare; “It doesn’t matter who owns the land, it’s what’s done with it that matters”.
Aye, well it bloomin’ well does matter. As this case cleary demonstrates.
Fascinating analysis; given the potential penalties it does make you wonder if relevant parties possibly were fully aware of this and deemed it a risk worth taking in case getting ensnared via other malpractices, which it seems might now be becoming a possibility, or perhaps were simply negligent and could not case less about any relevant laws? Or maybe it was a genuine mistake and they have done nothing wrong and no crimes were actually committed. Time will tell…
Again many thanks for all your work. please keep it going for we really NEED to know how “owns” our land in Scotland
John
I am so grateful for your diligence in investigating these cases Andy. Keep up the good work. The silent majority applaud you..
Surely the time is coming when those ‘in the know & those in the money’ (as I remember my father referring to such secretive folk as because he said they have much to hide!)will no longer be enshrouded by our ruling classes. Thanks to your deligent, respectful and lawful efforts such a day is coming soon. Thanks Andy.
This is for private discussion at another time before t wondering if your investigation has ever taken you to how land is registered in Ireland
Morning parents were very young in the 1920s when the foundations for the land reform for Ireland was put in to actual motion. I know it took another 25-30years to enact legally. My folks were astounded to realise in the 1990s that such legalization had not taken place for Scotland.
My dad retired from farming in his fifties. I seem to remember he took an interest in what the Welsh farmers were doing in the 70s. A time of political upheaval all across out wee islands!
Another great expose of those that dont have the interests of Scotland at heart Andy.
Thank you for all your good work. I live in Spain and anyone can find out who owns land from the Catastro. There is even an online search facility where you can find out all the land an individual or a company owns. The law, as often, seems to have been drawn up with the interests of the landowners and not for transparency. Surely, it is not beyond the capabilities of the Scottish government to digitise the contents of the Register of Sasines.