Farming and other rural businesses are facing great change. Brexit has seen the introduction of the Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS), with the Basic Payment Scheme being phased out. Agriculture is adapting to climate change, technological innovation, and the rising cost of fertiliser and feed. Environmental regulation is increasingly complex. Changes in working habits, through COVID, have increased the pressure on the public rights of way network.
Our specialist rural business advisers are here to guide you through the complexity. We’ll help you to avoid the threats and realise the many opportunities in this changing landscape to grow your business.
Rural businesses come to us with a wide range of legal needs and commercial aspirations. We’re experts in helping rural businesses to use their property and brand profitably and sustainably in the short, medium and long term. We can help you with advice on:
- Succession planning
- Property advice, management and disputes
- Property finance
- Development, including landowner consortia
- Planning and environmental
- Commercial and corporate
- Natural Capital
- Employment
- Partnership and shareholder agreements
- Tax and wealth structuring
- Business and personal disputes
- Health and safety
- Intellectual property
- Food and drink
- Renewable energy
- Strategic land ownership and development
- Family issues including pre and post-nuptial agreements or cohabitation agreements
- Mineral, manorial and sporting rights
- Registering unregistered land and rectifying issues with the title.
Our Rural team includes experts from across the firm. Whether you need advice on personal or commercial matters (so often they overlap), you’ll find that we have specialists who can help you. This breadth of legal expertise means we build long-lasting relationships with our rural clients, who know they can come to us no matter what they need help with.
We help a wide range of rural businesses, including:
- Farms and landed estates
- Vineyards
- Agri-businesses
- Institutional landowners
- Historic houses and heritage property
- Events venues.
Our Rural Expertise
A number of our team are Country Land Business Association (CLA) members and committee members. We also have advisers who are qualified with The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), which is a global professional body for experts in inheritance and succession planning. We are sponsors of the Royal Agricultural University.
Our national network of offices means we can support you no matter where you are. Our team offer not only legal expertise but also a friendly service and commercial and practical advice.
The leading independent guides to the legal profession, the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, recognise our expertise in rural issues. The guides rank our teams in the South East and Yorkshire are particularly highly.
Head of our Rural Business & Estates team James Pavey “has a broad practice encompassing landowners, developers and campaigners engaged in all types of environmental, planning and property matters. James is able to get to the heart of complex legal issues in order to achieve results. He works tirelessly to deliver them." - The Legal 500 2024
Contact Us
Please contact our expert team today to find out how we can help you with your agricultural legal needs. Call on 0808 271 2602 or use our online contact form and we will call you back.
