Our experienced team provides seamless legal support for farms and rural estates in the South West. We help you protect your interests, grow your business and stay one step ahead, providing tailored guidance across a broad range of personal and commercial matters.
Whether you want to ensure the smooth progress of a property transaction, require guidance on development opportunities, are considering how best to protect your legacy or need to resolve a dispute, we understand what matters most to you.
We have a long history of working with rural and farming clients in the South West, often acting for multiple generations of the same family. Many things have changed over the last 200 years and we recognise modern farms and estates are facing significant pressures. Our specialist team is here to help you navigate ever-changing planning and environmental regulations, find alternatives to diminishing farm support payments and adapt your succession planning in light of inheritance tax reforms.
These challenges often add another layer of complexity to the decisions you must make for your business and family. But we offer straightforward guidance, translating the detail of the law into practical solutions that work for you.
Expert rural lawyers for Farms & Estates
We assist a broad range of clients, including farms, estates and rural landowners, who may operate as individuals, companies or farming partnerships.
We advise on:
Rural & agricultural property
Efficient advice on all aspects of rural property. We ensure your transactions progress as smoothly as possible, anticipating potential issues and resolving problems promptly.
- Sales and purchases of farms and estates
- Estate management
- Development and expansion opportunities
- Shooting and fishing rights
- Mines and minerals rights
Legal expertise for rural and diversified businesses
From successful diversification projects to ensuring the effective operation of your business, we help you make the most of opportunities, while minimising risks.
- Development land deals, including overage, option and promotion agreements
- Holiday letting businesses
- Woodlands and fisheries
- Biodiversity net gain
- Solar farms and renewable energy opportunities
As national legal advisers to the British Holiday & Home Parks Association, we bring specialist sector knowledge and extensive experience in tourism ventures.
Tax, trusts & succession planning
When you've spent years nurturing your farm or business, you want to pass it to the next generation as tax-efficiently as possible. We provide strategic planning to protect your legacy, so you can make informed decisions and feel confident in your arrangements.
- Inheritance Tax planning
- Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) strategies
- Trust establishment and management
- Succession planning for family businesses
- Wills and estate administration
Farms & estates disputes
Property and land disputes require specialist knowledge. We resolve issues swiftly, with a focus on protecting relationships and minimising your costs and stress. Where possible, we achieve resolution through negotiation or mediation. If court proceedings are necessary, we'll fight your corner to achieve the best possible outcome.
• Boundary and rights of way disputes
• Adverse possession claims
• Tenancy issues
• Trust and estate disputes
Farms and Estates lawyers for over 200 years
We have an in-depth knowledge of the rural and farming sector, honed over decades of working with farms and estates across the South West. This means we're equally as comfortable reviewing complex documents in the office as we are putting on our wellies to inspect fields or fisheries when site visits are needed.
As active members of both the Country Land & Business Association (CLA) and the Agricultural Law Association (ALA), we stay ahead of the latest developments in rural property, business and land management.
We also work closely with colleagues across the firm, drawing on expertise within a number of nationally-recognised teams to further boost our breadth of experience, including:
Find out more
Our rural legal experts provide strategic and practical legal advice on a range of legal matters, tailored to the needs of farms and estates.
Contact us today to discuss your requirements and find out how we can help you.