Thrings’ award-winning Agriculture team has been at the forefront of another nationally significant judgment, with agricultural litigation expert Richie Rees successfully resisting an attempt by the government to remove business rate exemptions from one of the country’s leading free-range egg producers.
Background
The judgment from the Court of Appeal is the latest in a long-running dispute between Fridays Ltd and the Valuation Office Agency over the status of three buildings on its 530-acre farm in Kent, used for packing and storing the eggs, and whether they qualified for agricultural business rates exemption.
The Valuation Officer’s original assessment that the Egg Packing Centre, Egg Packaging Store and the Egg Warehouse should all be rated was challenged by the business, represented by Thrings’ Senior Associate, Richie Rees. Fridays Ltd contended that the buildings were integral to their agricultural operation – which produces more than three million eggs weekly to national supermarkets – and should remain exempt.
At first instance, this view was shared by the Upper Tribunal in a judgment published in August 2024, with Thrings’ arguments successful on all counts.
The Court of Appeal – Valuation Office vs Fridays Ltd
Having disagreed with the Upper Tribunal’s decision, the Valuation Officer escalated the case to the Court of Appeal. Three Lord Justices assessed the judgment against case law – in particular, the House of Lords authority Farmer v Buxted Poultry (1993).
Despite finding flaw in the Upper Tribunal’s widened interpretation of the “Buxted test”, the Court of Appeal upheld the original decision to grant Fridays Ltd its exemption, concluding that “it is not necessary for the operations carried out in the three buildings to be agricultural operations, provided that they are “connected with” agricultural operations on agricultural land”.
What this means
As well as being a major success for Fridays Ltd, the judgment has potentially significant implications for food producers across the UK, emphasising a need for regular reviewing of operations and business models to ensure they comply with the requirements for exemption.
For food producers that are seeking to apply for exemptions themselves, this decision gives further clarity on the Buxted test, and how it will be applied by the decision makers.
Andrew Friday, Director of Fridays Ltd, said:
“We are delighted with this outcome and the long-overdue clarity it provides both us and agricultural producers across the country. We are grateful to the court for its careful consideration and final decision, which recognises the reality of modernised farming practices and the essential role that our facilities play within an operation of our scale.
“I would like to thank Richie Rees and the entire team at Thrings for their advice and unwavering support throughout this long process – along with our barrister, Cain Ormondroyd – whose guidance has been instrumental in achieving this important result.
“We are also very grateful to the NFU for their continued support throughout, which ensured we could argue our case at each stage and secure this outcome.”
Richie Rees, Senior Associate in Thrings’ Agricultural Litigation team, added: “We’re pleased to see the Court of Appeal uphold the original decision and grant them their much-deserved exemptions and want to congratulate them on their success.
“With so many agricultural businesses having waited for this outcome, including many with pending applications of their own, we hope this gives them the certainty they need in understanding the standards they have to meet to qualify.”
Thrings’ Agriculture team is one of the largest of its kind in the UK with decades of experience in successfully supporting its farming and landowner clients to achieve their aims and the potential for their business. Its lawyers are ranked in the highest tier by both the prestigious Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners directories and have been chosen by the NFU to act for its members in more counties than any other firm.