The price of prime arable land in the East of England has leapt by 14pc to an average of £10,100 per acre, said rural property agents.

The quarterly farmland price index from Savills shows the region is outpacing national averages.

It says all types of farmland in East Anglia traded at an average of £9,150 per acre at the end of September - an 11.2pc annual increase, and ahead of the national figure of £7,609.

And the average value of prime arable land in the region has breached £10,000 per acre, surpassing the national figure of £9,694.

The research says the region has also seen more farmland publicly marketed in the last 12 months than anywhere else in the UK – rising by 81pc to 17,900 acres in September 2022.

Christopher Miles, who leads the rural agency team for Savills in the East of England and is based in the firm’s Norwich office, said: “Multiple large farms and estates have entered the market since the start of the year – most of which are now under offer or sold.

“Death or retirement with no willing successor continue to be the main catalysts for selling – with debt reduction and reinvestment or reallocation of assets also a consideration.

“A good proportion of those retiring are doing so early because they don’t see a future in agriculture and instead have made a decision to take advantage of the healthy trading conditions.”

Mr Miles said an imbalance between supply and demand is continuing to drive values upwards, including lesser-quality land which is generating particular interest among buyers "looking to invest for environmental reasons".

“With virtually no new farms on the market this autumn we expect values to continue to rise," he said.

"Cash-rich investors continue to seek tangible assets in these volatile economic and political times and land has previously proved a good hedge against inflation."

Meanwhile, national analysis by another agency, Strutt and Parker, shows that more than 50pc of arable land sold so far this year has sold for more than £10,000 per acre – the first time this has happened.

The firm's farmland database shows the average price of arable land sold during the first nine months of 2022 rising 4pc to £9,800 per acre – the highest figure since 2015 - with an expectation it could pass £10,000 by the end of the year.