Agriculture and estates

Michael Aubrey

Michael leads the firm’s national agriculture sector. His areas of specialism cover the acquisition and disposal of estates and farms, farm tenancies, joint ventures, development and promotion agreements, partnership agreements, contracting agreements. Recent examples of Michael’s work include advising a consortium of landowners in relation to the promotion of 400 acres of land for development, advising an estate on the restructuring of its agricultural tenancies so as to enhance the ability to achieve 100% IHT relief, restructuring the agricultural tenancies on an estate prior to sale of the estate and advising on the termination of a farming partnership.

Henry Cecil

Partner

Penny Elliott

Consultant

Edmund Fetherston-Dilke

Edmund advises several major estates on the full variety of legal issues including residential, agricultural and business tenancies, rights of way, sporting rights, agri-environmental schemes, riparian issues and planning and environmental matters. He is well connected in the residential and rural property markets and regularly works with a number of buying agents acquiring countryside and London properties for clients where transactions often need to be executed to brisk timetables. Often these acquisitions will involve offshore ownership structures and complex financing issues. Edmund has been dealing in high value residential property work for more than 20 years and has substantial experience in  all matters whether freehold or leasehold, listed or new build/off-plan. As part of his residential practice he regularly deals with lease extensions and enfranchisement matters for both landlord and tenant. Edmund also assists his clients with their significant refurbishment projects dealing with the associated planning and construction issues. He looks after a number of clients who have diverse commercial property interests on the granting and surrendering of leases, service charge issues and dilapidations.

Christopher Findley

Consultant

Tom Hewitt

Head of Burges Salmon's Food and Farming team. Advises on tax and estate planning for individuals, business structures, including partnership; tenure issues; complex variation of trust actions; complex probates and trust matters. Particular focus on clients who own land. Frequently lectures on capital tax issues and particularly inheritance tax reliefs for farmers and landowners.

Bertie Hoskyns-abrahall

Partner in the real estate department, specialising in the sale and purchase of rural property, agricultural land and estates. Also joint head of the landed estates group, a team of 30 lawyers who specialise in advising landowning families on succession planning, management and business issues. Bertie acts as a trustee for a number of estates. He and his team have covered £350m worth of rural property in a 12-month period to Jan ‘14, and other highlights include the lease of a 12 turbine windfarm site and security of 38 sites for the development of solar towns.

Paul Krafft

Paul’s main area of practice is in advising private and institutional clients with landed estates on agricultural, commercial and residential property matters, including landlord and tenant issues, sporting, minerals, development options and overage. He has particular experience in telecommunications and the sale and purchase of, and the granting of security over, rural property.

Andrew Lane

Partner

James Maxwell

James acts for private and institutional landowners in relation to the management of their rural property, including landlord and tenant issues, sporting and minerals, rights of access and manorial law. He specialises in the sale and purchase of rural estates and agricultural land. He is the Editor of the firm’s Agricultural Estates Newsletter.

Simon Pring

Simon is head of the estates and private property team. He advises large landowning clients (primarily those with landed estates) on all aspects of property law arising in relation to their ownership including all investment leasing as well as sales and purchases. Clients include institutional and charitable bodies (e.g. The Duchy Of Lancaster and the Church Commissioners) as well as a number of private estates.

Matthew Woods

Joint head of the landed estates group. Focuses on the mitigation of inheritance and capital gains taxes, and the long-term devolution of private wealth – particularly landed estates and owner-managed businesses – including advising international clients on suitable structures to manage their multinational and multigenerational needs.

Rose Gurney

Rose is a Senior Associate in the Rural Property team. Rose’s experience includes acting for private individuals, landed estates and charities on farm and other rural property sales and purchases. Rose also advises on tenanted land issues including Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 succession, Rent Act tenancies and modern Farm Business Tenancies as well as commercial landlord and tenant matters.

Hayden Bailey

Hayden is the Head of the Private Client and Tax team at Boodle Hatfield. He has an extensive range of private client and tax planning experience and advises entrepreneurs, family business owners and city executives on their UK capital taxation strategy, wills, trusts, life assurance based products, partnerships, shareholder issues and corporate governance. Hayden also advises non-UK domiciliaries on their UK taxation exposure and asset holding structures and Family Office arrangements.

Ross Simpson

Partner in Real Estate specialising in strategic land and rural property. Undertakes complex strategic land work advising on options, promotion agreements and conditional contracts associated with major projects regularly acting for consortia of landowners. Also works within the firm’s Food and Farming team advising on the purchase and sale of estates, farms, country houses, commercial forestry, island properties, sporting rights and salmon fishings. Expertise extends to advising landowners and investors on natural capital opportunities including rural land acquisition and management for Biodiversity Net Gain, carbon and other environmental outcomes. Clients include traditional land and estate owners, family trusts, farm partnerships and institutional investors. Dual qualified to practise in Scotland and England and Wales.

Saskia Arthur

Saskia is a Partner in the Property team. Saskia has a diverse client base and wide ranging practice focusing on the residential, rural and landed estates sectors and advising on all areas of property law that impact on high net worth individuals, large land owners and estates. She leads the firm's residential practice and acts for both domestic and foreign nationals and works closely with our tax, private client and corporate teams on the often complex arrangements surrounding such transactions. With a number of urban and country estate clients, along with property investors and private clients, she acts on all major property matters including sales and purchases of high value residential property, landed estates and commercial farming operations, overage arrangements, landlord and tenant issues (whether residential, commercial or agricultural), easements, first registrations, sporting and telecommunications, together with the ongoing day to day management advice on a myriad of issues. She regularly acts on acquisitions and purchases of the most expensive land, farms and residential properties and estates in England.

Simon Blackburn

Simon is Head of the Landed Estates and Agriculture Team.  He advises UK and overseas buyers on all aspects of transacting and managing farms, estates and country houses and has been practising in the sector since qualification in 2009. Simon regularly advises on the sale of land for development, in addition to helping clients to deal with manorial rights and rural rights of way, (public and private); he also has a strong background in dealing with issues arising under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 and unregistered land. One of Simon’s specialisms is acting as an independent conveyancing solicitor in matrimonial proceedings for both residential and rural property where the parties cannot agree to instruct either of the firms representing the parties. Qualified 2009, joined Payne Hicks Beach 2018, partner 2018.

Robert Brodrick

Robert advises on tax, trust and estate planning for wealthy individuals, their advisers and trustees. He acts for a wide range of clients including non-domiciliaries, international families with assets in multiple jurisdictions as well as UK based families and the owners of landed estates and business people.  Robert’s practice is divided into three main geographic areas of clients: Middle East; US/UK and UK domestic (which also includes UK resident non-doms). He is a Trustee of a number of UK trusts including several that hold heritage assets, and he also acts as Executor.  He is known for his sensitive handling of difficult family situations.  Robert advises on contentious trust and probate work, and has recently been involved in applications to vary and rectify trusts both in the UK and offshore. Robert has developed a reputation for advising a number of high profile US families based in the UK (alongside their existing US advisers) and he is also experienced at advising Middle Eastern families on the creation and reorganization of trusts, including Sharia compliant structures. He is also known for his sensitive handling of complicated family situations.

Edward Jarron

Edward is a partner in the real estate team. He deals with a broad range of property matters. Although his concentration is in the landed estates sector, his practice areas include buying and selling country houses, agricultural estates, development sites, dealing with commercial leases and renewables projects (both for landowners and developers). Edward undertakes high-end residential work and also the property aspects of tax planning for private clients. Edward's clients include predominantly private individuals (both national and international), family offices and corporate clients (including not for profit organisations).

Rupert Mead

Partner

Tim Ryan

Rural development and strategic land issues; co-operation, promotion, option, overage and pre-emption agreements; farm tenancies.