Time running out to take part in shoot survey

Shoots are being urged to take part in a survey which reviews and assesses their performances across the season. 

The seventh Shoot Benchmarking Survey, organised by Savills and GWCT, compares a shoot’s operations against similar shoots and highlights the areas in need of improvement and refinement. 

In return for completing the survey by Friday, May 19 (the deadline), contributors will receive a detailed report only available to participants with benchmark figures for small, medium and large-sized shoots. 

Past participants in our free shoot benchmarking exercise have successfully used their reports to revise their charges and control their costs. 

The report allows them to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses in their performance against the ‘benchmark’, so corrective action can be taken if needed. It can answer questions such as: Are your poult or feed costs too high or charge rates per bird too low? Are your permanent and casual staff rates of pay competitive to attract the best people? How do your percentage returns for the season compare against other shoots? 

Some of the key findings from last year’s survey include; 

• Cost per bird put down - £12.86 (excl VAT)
• Price charged per pheasant - £35 (excl VAT)
• Beat keepers average pay - £16,096 + benefits
• 69% of shoots have planted woodland in the past 10 years.                                

Each shoot receives a detailed report from our research team, based on a traffic light system of performance scores. In addition, only those who take part get to see the full results and analysis. It is totally confidential and no shoot is identifiable in the published flyers we use. 

Savills director David Steel said: “I would encourage as many shoots as possible to take part in our free shoot benchmarking exercise – regardless of their size and commerciality. Our bespoke reports which each participant receives, will clearly show where shoots are over or under performing against their peers - appropriate corrective action can then be taken, which is especially important given the increasing financial pressures which most shoots now have to operate under.” 

Roger Draycott GWCT head of advisory services said: “The shoot benchmarking survey also collects a lot of useful information about the environmental work that shoots are involved with. For example, preliminary analysis of this year’s data reveals that 77% of participating shoots sow wild bird seed mixes and 95% of shoots provide supplementary grain through the hungry gap for farmland birds in late winter.” 

Anyone wishing to complete this survey should visit https://savills.formstack.com/forms/shootbenchmarking2016.

For more information, contact David Steel on dsteel@savills.com or call 01200 411 051.