A LARGE agricultural estate in North Dorset has been sold off by the Crown Estate to a company linked to one of the country’s top newspaper magnates.

Bryanston Estate was bought by a company held on behalf of Viscount Rothermere and his son Vere Harmsworth.

Its sale for an undisclosed price will swell the coffers of the Treasury.

A statement said its decision to buy the land was part of the Rothermere family’s long-term strategy to diversify its investments.

Viscount Rothermere was estimated earlier this year to have a net worth of £1billion.

He is chairman of DMG Media, which owns the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.

The 4,700 acre Bryanston Estate at Blandford, was bought by the Crown in 1950 from the Portman family.

Most of the estate consists of 14 farm tenancies and around 40 homes.

Ken Jones, director of the rural and coastal portfolio for the Crown Estate, said: “Sales such as this provide our business with important capital for investment across our key sectors.

“The proceeds will be reinvested in the business across the UK and see us continue to actively manage our significant rural holdings, invest in 21st century shopping parks, encourage growth in offshore energy sector and deliver world leading retail and business destinations in London’s West End.”

The Crown Estate is a commercial business independent of the monarch, managing a portfolio of assets worth £11.5bn.

All its profits are returned to the Treasury, bringing in £2.3bn for the public purse over the last 10 years.

Its rural land portfolio consists of 340,000 acres of agricultural land, forests, marinas, ports and harbours, together with minerals, property, and around half the UK’s shoreline.

The village of Bryanston was named after Brian de Lisle, a baron at the court of King John. In the 19th century, it was bought by Sir William Portman, and his family built a large country house, set in 400 acres, which later became Bryanston School.

Viscount Portman gave up the Bryanston Estates in the 1950s as part payment of death duties.