BUYING AND SELLING FARMS

Whether you are buying or selling an estate, farm or agricultural land, our specialist Agriculture Team can advise you and guide you through the process. As transactions are often time-sensitive and complex, we will assemble a team swiftly, tailored to your individual needs. With many years of experience in all aspects of Agricultural Property Conveyancing including the impact of  public and private rights of way, EU Support Schemes and agricultural tenancies, we are in a position to advise you fully on what is a significant investment.

Key Contacts

Neil Barbour

Head of Agricultural Property 01225 340 070

Duncan Sigournay

Partner 01225 340 064

Mark Charter

Partner 02380 930 314

AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

With significant experience in the purchase of farms, estates and agricultural land as well as part disposals of farms, estates and agricultural land, we can deal with complex issues and draw on our extensive external network to provide you with bespoke legal and commercial advice.

Our team builds relationships based on trust and communication. Whether you are a farmer, landowner or investor planning a purchase, sale or considering secured lending against your farm or estate we will endeavour to meet you on farm to walk the boundaries and discuss key issues arising with your transaction. Our approach is designed to ensure that issues which could affect the value of your farm or estate, or your ability to mortgage or sell it in the future are fully explored.

Providing specialist advice and a commercial outlook, we will guide you through your transaction to deliver the best outcome for you.

Every year our Agricultural Property Team advises landowners and farmers, all over the UK, on the sale and purchase of hundreds of millions of pounds worth of farmland. Highlights include:

  • Acting for the UK’s major banks and well known pension companies in secured lending work.
  • Advising landowner clients on the potential development of their estate using a hybrid development agreement with an anticipated build out value in excess of £100m. Advising on tax/estate planning issues, trusts and farming partnership issues, and a strategy for the family to continue farming in the long term.
  • Acting on the purchase of a landed estate worth in excess of £20m including the setting up of a partnership and related tax and succession planning for a family.
  • The purchase of a 500 acre farm including large farmhouse and annexe, farm buildings and solar park. We advised on the overall purchase, public and private rights of way, the lease of the solar park to a company, two overage deeds relating to solar and residential uses, basic payment scheme entitlements, tenancies, the woodland grant scheme, a man made fishing lake and sporting rights including shooting licences.
  • Advising on the disposal of a well-known Sporting Estate in the North of England.
  • Acting on the sale of a very large farm with an anaerobic digester, other renewable energy and the potential development of a significant acreage of farmland into residential housing.
  • Advising landowner clients on the transfer of a business as a going concern in respect of the sale of a substantial multi-million pound outdoor and indoor livestock business, with the sale being completed in a very short time scale. Our clients retained the freehold of farmland, livestock units/buildings and agricultural workers housing, necessitating a series of leases and an asset purchase agreement.

Our expertise in this area encompasses:

 

  • Advising on public rights of way position and putting questions to the Public Rights of Way Officer for the relevant County Council and advising on private rights of way issues
  • The preparation of Legal Packs for farm and estate sales
  • Checking that all service and access easements for a farm or estate purchase are in place
  • Renewing and advising on historic covenants
  • Development rights
  • Drafting contracts to ensure the transfer of Basic Payment Entitlements
  • Employment issues
  • Investigating the Town & Country Planning and building control history of the farm
  • Sporting rights
  • Structuring the sale in the context of general tax planning
  • Tenancy and other occupation issues
 


Contact

A SOURCE CALLS NEIL BARBOUR ‘THE BEST FARM CONVEYANCER I HAVE EVER COME ACROSS,’ HIGHLIGHTING HIS ‘ATTENTION TO DETAIL, AVAILABILITY AND ASSIDUOUS FOCUS’. CHAMBERS AND PARTNERS 2017

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