The Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) has secured a £50 million investment deal with property experts LaSalle Investment Management to safeguard the future of Stoneleigh Park as a centre of rural excellence.

Under the agreement announced today, the management and development of the 1,000 acre Stoneleigh Park site will be the responsibility of LaSalle, while the RASE concentrates on its original role, as a champion of rural and agricultural advancement.

As part of a long-term plan to secure the future of RASE and Stoneleigh Park, the charity’s Board of Trustees’ vision for the site has, for many years, been as a rural innovation and science park with emphasis on sustainability, the environment, agriculture, equine, and forestry as well as rural business and research activities.

The collaboration with LaSalle is the result of spending considerable time seeking a commercial partner to fulfil this vision, who shared the values and ethos of the society and who would commit long-term investment into the estate.

Commenting on the deal, RASE Chairman Henry Cator said: “LaSalle are property professionals with vast experience of managing similar sites and we are confident that Stoneleigh Park will be developed to become the national hub for agricultural, equine and rural business, research and knowledge exchange.”

“With a commitment to invest £20 million by the end of 2012, up to a maximum of £50 million by 2020, this is a hugely exciting time for the site, the RASE, Stoneleigh Park and the local economy,” he said.

Mr Cator added: “The site already makes a significant contribution both locally and nationally, providing more than 2,000 jobs and attracting more than 750,000 visitors each year. It generates an estimated £80 million worth of business benefits to the local economy, and has the potential to generate many more jobs.”

LaSalle European Director Andrew Bull said: “We would like to see Stoneleigh at the forefront of a rural renaissance in the UK, and held up as an exemplar of the value of the rural economy.”

“It has the strong potential to be the hub and showcase for farming’s future. Already the home of the national headquarters of the NFU, the recently created Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board and many equestrian bodies, its central location, long history and active research programme are a powerful draw for any business interacting with the agricultural and equine sectors,” he said.

The RASE was founded in 1838 under the banner “Practice with Science” with the aims of stimulating agricultural innovation, spreading knowledge and learning, and applying best practice to production and land management.

Mr Cator continued: “The growth in global population, the increasing threats from climate change and the need to find a way to produce the food that is needed in a genuinely sustainable way makes our work as crucial today as it was in 1838 when the Society was formed. We are already carrying out some excellent work in these areas and are delighted that we will now be able to expand on this.”