Scone Estates is a 400-year-old family business situated in the heart of rural Perthshire. The Estates stretch from fertile arable land by the banks of the River Tay at Scone, to the rolling hills of North Logiealmond. 

A forward-thinking diversified rural business, the Estates comprise farming, forestry, fishing, property and tourism enterprises. The principal visitor attraction is Scone Palace and Gardens, renowned as the crowning place of Scottish Kings with a history stretching back over fifteen hundred years. Macbeth and Robert the Bruce were crowned at Scone , and the last coronation was of Charles II in 1651. 

Galbraith is a rural agent to Scone Estates, advising on the agricultural and wider estate management elements of the business. 

William Murray,  Viscount Stormont, took time to discuss the business and his priorities with Nick Ainscough of Galbraith. 

Nick: Many thanks for providing us with this insight into Scone Estates. I wondered if you could start us off by telling me about your career before you came back here to run the business at Scone? 

Viscount Stormont: I guess I have quite an eclectic background! After my undergraduate degree at Durham University, I moved to Rome where I worked for a humanitarian organisation called the Sovereign Order of Malta as a Diplomat. I travelled around the world and was involved in a huge amount of good work. After Rome, I moved to New York and worked for a very interesting consulting practice which specialized in the SME market. They handled a huge variety of businesses, from a jewellery company in Brooklyn which supplies Tiffany, to an insurance broker in New York, to a trucking company that delivers sound systems for rock concerts! It was great hands-on experience of how businesses work. I then did an MBA at Oxford which I hoped would help me establish both my own career, potentially separate to Scone, as well as being invaluable for helping me navigate my inevitable future at home in our family business. I don’t want to blow my own trumpet but it probably says a bit about the evolution of our family business  that out of 16 generations, I am the first to undertake a formal business education! 

Nick:  Do you think that’s a common theme for the next generation that are now taking on the responsibility of managing traditional estates? 

Viscount Stormont:  Yes, very much so and certainly in my case, I have had huge support and encouragement from my own family but was also inspired by other individuals who are mentors of mine and who are in similar positions to me and have been very business-minded on their own properties. 

Nick:  And now you are back at Scone having had these experiences, do you recognize the benefits in your work here day to day? 

Viscount Stormont:   Definitely. For me the one amazing privilege about owning a property like Scone Estates is that on any given day you can be immersed in anything. You could just sit back and watch the grass grow or you could rewild it or you could start a rock concert, or you can build houses. With a bit of endeavour, I believe everything is on the table for us as a business. And that is a great privilege but at the same time it means you need to be savvy and understand the business risks and liabilities to make sure you make good decisions. So I think that the combination of my consulting experience and then the MBA, did set me up well for what we are doing now. 

Nick:   Yes, and you obviously have the management team internally as well as external advisors so whilst it’s not necessarily all on you, it must be empowering to make your own management decisions drawing on your own abilities as opposed to always relying on someone else’s acumen?  

Viscount Stormont:    Yes, and I think that’s very important. I always hesitate to say this but I’m only sitting here because of previous generations, but where my ancestors were all extremely successful and interesting individuals, they maybe didn’t put their own mark on the business of Scone Estates. They were lawyers or they were politicians, and they were often removed from the business and relied heavily, you could say too heavily, upon their advisors and factors, whereas I think I am trying to strike more of a balance. In the modern age we need to be more on top of the commercial aspects of our business than ever before so whilst I am still very reliant upon our CEO and our advisors, I have a good insight into the decisions that are being taken, and I drive the various aspects of the business 

Nick:  This leads us on to the topic of succession which is a very important part of any family business and something that appears to have been addressed relatively early and dare I say it, pretty smoothly at Scone. Can you share what you have learnt about the process? 

Viscount Stormont:    This is an interesting one because without really meaning it to be, succession in a way became my specialism during my time working as a consultant in New York. I think they thought my own background was very interesting and so they pushed me into the family business division where I was suddenly working with these American families who were three, sometimes four, maybe five generations in and were struggling with succession. At that point, I naïvely thought that succession just happened naturally rather than it being a major barrier for families. But I learnt a lot and for me now, it is the most important topic for family businesses, it is the biggest challenge.   

I am very lucky that between my parents and our advisors we have successfully managed it.  I am very grateful to my father and mother that I am in a position of great trust now, to manage and evolve the business. 

Nick:  That is something that is evident as an external adviser. Galbraith as a firm has been involved in the farm and estate management at Scone for a couple of years now and it is obvious that there is so much going on and a lot of that is driven by you. Which aspects would you say have gone very well, and which have been challenging in the past couple of years or so? 

Viscount Stormont: Some things I simply inherited as a legacy from my parents so I can’t claim credit for everything! But there are other things where we have injected some fresh impetus and new energy. I have a strong desire to really push things forward, both within the business in terms of generating more revenue, greater yields, efficiencies where we can, but also the other elements such as addressing climate change, boosting community engagement, thinking about our natural capital, some of which are also commercial but some of which are just doing the right thing. In terms of landed businesses, I think there has been a realization that community engagement is absolutely essential and it underpins everything that the business does.  My parents recognized that and it just happens that I am now the one who’s accelerating what they started. 

Nick:   In terms of the fresh impetus that you refer to, can you give us some examples of things that you have been working on recently?  

Viscount Stormont:    Sure, so there are lots of different things. I think we have renewed our push on events. Events are a very important enterprise for us – particularly because they allow us to interact with the local community. We get lots of international tourists coming to Scone Palace and that’s great, but we often are isolated or distant from the local market and local suppliers. Events are a great way for us to interact with local people and get them to come to Scone and enjoy Scone. We have tried to start and develop events in-house, rather than simply host events. The Garden Fair, which happens at the end of May is a good example of that: it is owned and operated by ourselves and obviously the big one is the International Horse Trials which is coming to Scone at the end of August for the first time. Again, entirely owned and operated by us. The other project that is keeping us busy is the Racecourse. It was really down to timing more than anything else, but I suppose that I accelerated the timeline and as soon as the opportunity emerged, I was very keen to seize it.  

Nick:  And that is bringing the Racecourse back in hand? 

Viscount Stormont::    Yes, for 100 years we were only the landlords but now it is our own operating business. It’s done extremely well since we took over about two years ago.  We inherited the Racecourse team who are fantastic but other areas of our business have had to adapt. It’s been a valuable exercise.  Other areas of fresh impetus have been on the community side. Some of that is simply visibility: my parents are fantastic and I credit my mother especially with building a lot of bridges into the local community, especially into the local authority with our elected officials and I have tried to continue that but I have used modern means like social media as a way just to get my face known locally, which can be uncomfortable but I think it is very important and I think that it has been successful. It makes us more accessible.  Quite regularly people stop me and say ‘Oh I’ve seen your post about x, y or z’ and they ask me a question about the history of Scone or about the business and I think a lot of people like the fact that we now have more of an open door policy and people feel that they can come and ask you a question, which is, I think, really important. 

Nick:  So one of the other things that’s come on in the last six months, publicly at least, is the North Logiealmond  Windfarm. There is still quite a long way for that to go before the turbines start turning but can you share with us a bit about what your aspirations are for that project and what it might involve for the Estate and also for the city of Perth? 

Viscount Stormont:   You nailed it in terms of not jumping the gun – we have a long way to go on it, but it is a vitally important project for our business and I can explain why, but also it is a vitally important project, I think, for the region and for the city of Perth. I talk about a ‘quadruple bottom line’ which is a bit wordy but there is some logic to it.  Initially there are the obvious environmental gains in producing renewable energy; the second gain is generating economic activity locally: it is a significant investment from our development partners which will generate work, jobs and investment in the region. Then there is also the private wire opportunity. By private wire, I mean a direct connection from the windfarm to the city of Perth, giving the opportunity for the energy to be generated and consumed locally. This might have significant benefits for local businesses as well as enable new businesses to move into the area and provide a significant boost to Perth’s economy which I think a lot of people find quite excited.   

Nick:  I know we are hypothesizing but what types of businesses do you think that might involve? Presumably those with a high demand for electricity? 

Viscount Stormont:    Yes, and this is what is exciting. It would likely involve high energy consuming businesses, we’re talking about data centres, hydroponics, cold stores and food logistics hubs. There is scope for an energy-rich investment zone which could provide what I describe as ‘future proofed’ employment for the region. Perth has struggled over the last 30-40 years with a lot of the traditional employers having closed or moved elsewhere and I think that the city needs a strong base of future employment opportunities because otherwise everyone is going to leave and that motivation is significant for me.  I am a Perth boy, Scone is extremely important to me but Scone thrives if Perth thrives, so I see it as a dual mission. And just to continue my narrative on the quadruple bottom line, the third benefit, which is essential and then plays into the last one, is the community. Muirhall are our development partners on the windfarm and their USP is about interaction with communities and involving them in the windfarm journey. There will be a very significant community fund at play which could do all sorts of interesting things immediately within the vicinity of the windfarm should it be successful. So, I think it is very important that the community which is most affected, benefits most. There is also an opportunity given the scale of the fund and given the need in other areas nearby, for us to make a huge difference in the local rural area.

There are lots of issues that could be addressed. Energy poverty is a significant issue in our area. Child poverty in Perth is astonishingly high and how incredible would it be if this unlocked funding that could help alleviate that. Obviously, the community would need to drive that, but I think there is recognition that there is a big opportunity in spreading the benefits to impact as many people as possible. Finally, the fourth benefit in the quadruple bottom line is Scone Estates. I refer to our benefits as the ‘heritage gains’, because the Palace and a whole host of other listed structures are in real need of investment. Should the windfarm be successful, the proceeds that come to the estate will all be poured straight back into the local economy. 

Nick:   So would that extend beyond the heritage infrastructure? 

Viscount Stormont:  Yes, it is the whole thing, so obviously investment in the heritage infrastructure here benefits our tourism operation but we also need to invest in our residential properties so that we can improve the quality of our affordable housing stock that serves the area. Our farm buildings need investment to help improve our farming operations, but we also want to rejuvenate the various antiquated steadings to potentially provide more accommodation or business space for rural businesses. The Racecourse is another one where we would just pour money straight back in to improve the facilities and race day infrastructure. So in all of this we would be creating opportunities for local businesses in the form of construction projects and requirement for professional services, at the same time as we are improving our heritage and business assets and I hope that this is something that people recognise: that the windfarm has the ability to create all these benefits to the area that goes way beyond just the production of renewable energy. You are not going to find me on a beach in Barbados but I may be on the banks of the Tay enjoying the fact that all the proceeds have gone straight back into the local economy. 

Nick:  Would your plans for creating a new Visitor Centre at the Old Stable Block be part of this? 

Viscount Stormont:  Next year will be our 70th anniversary as a tourism business. So five generations after my great-grandparents did what everyone told them not to do, which was to move back into the big house after the Second World War, they invested a huge amount of time, effort and funds into setting Scone Palace up for the future as a tourism attraction and as a family home. They did it at top spec and we have benefited from that ever since – it was a multi-generational investment.  To me, the stable block represents the same opportunity. I gently say that because it is mildly terrifying to try and undertake something that could last five-plus generations but there is no doubt that it would transform our business model, open the local market more and elevate the whole visitor experience. 

Nick:  Can you tell us a bit more about what would be involved in the project and a bit more about what it would do for the tourism business? 

Viscount Stormont:  Essentially it would be an extension of what we are doing now, but it would enlarge and improve our retail, our catering, our entrance ticketing. It would enable us to change our current model, to a year-round catering and retail model that is free to access with additional paid-for elements on top. We would hope to benefit from that because at the moment our revenue cycles are very cyclical, very seasonal, which puts a lot of strain on the business during the quiet months. But the whole project comes with a huge cost attached so it is a major decision.  If you run the ROI (return on investment ) on it, it basically doesn’t exist, so it’s a heck of a decision. We are in a place now with the opening of the Cross Tay Link Road, and the improved access that that brings, as well as potentially with the windfarm, that it is an opportunity that we can look at. It is really just a question of timing.  

Nick:  But one of the benefits of being a 16 generation family business is that you have the ability to take that long term view. A generational investment such as this may not give you that immediate return but just like your grandparents would have done in 1956, it’s not just the return on the capital that you get to consider but also the ability to put in new foundations for your family business that will last for another five generations. 

Viscount Stormont: This is literally fresh thinking, I have never considered whether we would still be here if my great grandparents didn’t do what they did, so maybe that will give me the boldness to make that decision because if I don’t, will our family still be here in five generations’ time? 

Nick:   And then if you evaluate the ROI against that consideration, then it’s not such an important barrier, is it?   

Viscount Stormont: It does change the decision-making framework, yes! There are lots of things to consider together and I am fortunate to have a fantastic suite of advisors and management in place currently and I feel very well supported so I have no doubt we’ll make the right decision! 

Nick:  It is such a huge opportunity, and a good example of how the future rejuvenation of these heritage assets is so interlinked with the windfarm outcome and the rest of the Estate. Going back to the windfarm, the public consultation has started and you’ve already talked a lot about the interaction with the community, but there are a lot of people who will be affected by the project, both positively and others who will have a perception of being negatively impacted. What would you say to this? 

Viscount Stormont:    I think it is important to be as transparent as possible on that. I was in the room for the public consultation, and I was quite surprised to hear that it is unusual for the landowner to turn up for these sorts of things. But I thought it was important to put myself in the firing line because it is obviously a contentious issue and as a result, I took a few on the chin, but I think it is better to do that than not be able to front up. I am very firm in my belief that the opportunity for Perth is significant, particularly in combination with other things that are now coming forward as well from some of our near neighbours and some of the other significant businesses in the region.  There is an opportunity for Perth to have a 21st Century economic revival, a new business revolution that sustains Perth for generations. I really believe that. The city needs it and I hope to play a large part in that. 

Nick:   Not every large estate has a strong relationship with the community. I am sure there are areas that you can work on but it seems that Scone have a mutually respectful affiliation with local people and you’ve alluded to your mother’s efforts in recent years and now you’re trying to build on that as well.  It would be interesting to know what steps you take to proactively develop your relationship with local communities? 

Viscount Stormont:    I would start by saying that I think our relationship with the community could be a lot better, I would start with that and that’s motivating me to do more.  I think for a variety of reasons we used to be deeply imbedded in the community, and you could say that this would inevitably change with the times. We used to have a huge employment base - our forestry division just on its own employed 60 people, and now it’s basically zero as we outsource all of the work. So historically, that wouldn’t have just been 60 individuals but 60 families. But over time, we’ve lost that big community. When my grandfather was alive, he was extremely busy in his own career. He was a politician and one of the first elected MEPs and so spent a lot of time in Brussels. There’s no doubt he was doing great work, but the nature of it meant that there was a constant distance from the estate which slowly over time affected the dynamic with a lot of our local partners, the local authority, and things like that. And this is where I really credit my mother with building all of those bridges back up and I am obviously trying to continue that. I think we also need to be more vocal about our history and what we have done in the area as a family over the years. We did a heck of a lot historically, but we haven’t communicated our legacy very well so that over the years, it gets lost. I like to quietly remind people that, for instance, mainly because I am a passionate St Johnstone fan, that we gifted the land in North Muirton in Perth to the people of Perth for recreational purposes from which they built a football stadium, which was great, and that’s history now but absolutely nobody makes the connection between Scone Estates and St Johnstone Football Club!   

So, what are we doing today?  We are trying to use as many local businesses and local suppliers as possible, that’s a really effective way to show our support. We are also trying to support as many local charities as possible, whether it’s with interesting events using Perth Racecourse or we can host things for free or at cost at the Palace for instance. We are also working on some ambitious plans to do things on a more significant scale for the community in the future, we are looking forward to being able to talk about that publicly, so that’s one to watch. 

Nick:   One to watch indeed and I’m sure it will be well received. We’ve talked about succession, the opportunities that may come from the windfarm and your approach to working with the community. From just this small snapshot, it’s clear that everything at Scone is interlinked one way or another. What are you finding to be significant as you navigate the journey from traditional landed estate to a genuine, multi-enterprise rural business in modern Scotland? 

Viscount Stormont:   To start with, there are some things that you can’t change: the grass still grows and the trees still grow, and as simple as it sounds, that’s always going to be part of our business. Farming is the core component of what we do. It can be easy to forget that, as it’s less of an operational headache than some other areas which take up a lot of management time, but agriculture is very important.  And then there are things like the residential portfolio, which similarly underpins our business. Its purpose is to provide income to help preserve the heritage assets like Scone Palace. The residential portfolio was originally part of the Abbey, and along with providing accommodation for workers, that has always been its role so it is a legacy which my family have brought through to the 21st Century. Our aim is to continue to be a key provider of affordable housing in the area and our challenge is to keep the portfolio compliant and modernised. Beyond that, diversification is key –  although that comes with the caveat that we have learnt that you can over diversify! It is a case of finding things that work and then really trying to perfect those and make sure they are profitable. We are much more complicated than your average business because of the different trading entities and activities that we have, so that is problematic because it means our management costs are high, our margins are not fantastic, so that’s increasingly a focus. But diversification is critical. I think all rural businesses understand that it is very important not to simply rely on the typical agricultural revenue streams.  

Nick:   As you make this journey, does the scale of Scone help you or hinder you? 

Viscount Stormont: That’s a very interesting question.  It’s obviously helpful in terms of there being a significant balance sheet which provides us with a level of security. But at the same time every item on that balance sheet comes with a liability attached. Related to this, are our yields. We have a lot of capital tied up in assets that do not produce exciting returns. So, in terms of our ability to generate revenue from a significant balance sheet, we struggle. It comes with the territory of owning land. Having said this, our scale enables us to diversify more easily and accommodate different income streams into our business.   I think the one thing that’s changing for us is an evolution of what we perceive as core assets – or assets that are beyond reproach in terms of ownership and financial performance. The assets that I consider to be ‘core’ would be a lot smaller than previous generations.  We critically appraise a lot more of our business assets than we used to and ask ourselves difficult questions such as: can we improve the yield? Or can we reduce a liability? Or do we actually need to hold it anymore?  Really difficult decisions as some of those things have been held by our family for hundreds of years. 

Nick:   One of the points of difference that Scone has, compared to most other rural businesses, is the heritage and history that exists here. I know that Scone’s history goes back for 1,000 years or more but I think I’m right in saying your family has been here for 400 years, which is amazing in itself but also an incredible USP for your business. Clearly it’s a big part of your tourism enterprise, but how else does Scone’s heritage flow into the modern day? And when you are setting goals and looking to the future what role does the heritage play? 

Viscount Stormont:  Basically, everything we do at Scone is driven by the heritage.  We are a unique business but fundamentally, our purpose is to preserve Scone and to promote Scone’s history and heritage. Sometimes that means that we make decisions which no other business would ever make in terms of ‘is there a return at all on that investment?’ But it just is what it is, that is our purpose you could say.  One thing that you mentioned that I think is helpful to remember in the narrative of Scone, is the fact that so much of Scone’s long, rich, significant history pre-dates the arrival of my family. So it’s not all about our family, it’s about Scone, and, so I often use that as a good way to stay grounded.  If the story of humanity is comparable to a postage stamp on Nelson’s Column, in terms of humanity’s part in the world’s history, I think of our family’s stewardship at Scone in a similar way. We are just part of Scone’s greater history.   

Nick:   Now, you have recently started your own family and so that probably leads us nicely to my last question which is: if you are looking into your crystal ball what do you hope that, as a business or institution, Scone Estates will look like in 30 years’ time when your sons or daughters are in a similar position to where you are now? 

Viscount Stormont:  By the time this is published I will be a father for the second time as we are due our second child at the end of May, it’s going to be chaos! What does that mean as a family business and where we are heading? I would like to hand over something to my children which is not burdensome. I would say what was handed to my grandfather and my father could be seen as burdensome, with a lot of pressure, a lot of liabilities and at a time when the world was a very changeable place.  My grandfather took over after the Second World War, with death duties hanging over him and the business struggled to survive. I would like to pass something on to the next generation which is resilient and allows them the opportunity to take it forward in their own way and not be hamstrung by the past. My hope is that more members of the family will have boots on the ground and be employed in the business.  My wife is highly intelligent, with a great business mind so she will have significant input in the coming years. As an American she also has that international perspective so she will definitely be heavily involved beside me and together we will march our way forward, march to the future and see where it takes us.