Get ON our land!
Local farming business Hampton Estate opens gates to food, drink and rural enterprises and start-ups
Why grow a business alone when there’s land, resources and know-how to tap into?
That’s the message this week from Hampton Estate who are welcoming sustainable businesses and start-ups looking for a leg-up to help them grow, as part of Pitch Up! 2025.
Hampton Estate is a diversified rural business spanning 800 hectares in between Farnham and Guildford. The Hampton team are looking for others who would like to build businesses in partnership with them, to grow their regenerative community and circular economy.
This year, Hampton is specifically looking for those wanting to expand or run:
- Pastured poultry, woodland pigs and/ or sheep flock
- Market and community gardens
- Cut flower enterprise
- Composting business
- Nature groups
Other opportunities include eco-tourism, running clubs, pond dipping, catering and pop-up events and art-based businesses. All ideas welcome! They’d love to hear how interested businesses could feed into the circular community on the estate.
Growing together – Dragons Den Style
Pitch Up! Provides individuals, businesses and entrepreneurs with the opportunity to pitch their ideas to regenerative farming businesses such as Hampton. From today, entrepreneurs and businesses can submit an expression of interest to Hampton, ready for the Pitch Up! Applications Season (think Dragon’s Den) which returns this November.
Hampton’s Molly Biddell says: “For us, it’s all about creating holistic, regenerative and resilient systems that support amazing landscapes and wonderful communities. We think Pitch Up! is the key to helping us do this.”
What is Pitch Up?
Pitch Up! is about farmers working together, independently of government initiatives and funding bodies, to create a different model for local businesses.
The initiative connects regenerative farms such as Hampton Estate with sustainable businesses needing access to land/ space. They then share resources, knowledge and land to feed one another and grow together.
Pitch Up! welcomes businesses at all stages – supporting established enterprises with relocation, renovating space customised to their specific needs, or readying land for use. For start-ups, it could be more about experimental space, trialling packaging and dispatch, or support developing their pricing models, product offer or production processes.
In return, Pitch Up! farms gain partners, not tenants. Each agreement is different, shaped to be fair to both sides – whether that’s profit share, turnover rent, produce use/ reuse, or longer-term regeneration goals. It’s about helping farms diversify in a future-focused way.
Interested businesses can take the first step and fill out an expression of interest form today.
To find out more, visit pitchupandgrow.com – and follow @pitchupdandgrow on Instagram for the latest updates.