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Below is a selection of recent work that we have handled on
behalf of our clients in the agricultural and rural sectors:
successful Court of Appeal decision
We were instructed by landowner clients as their tenant was
operating an ‘open farm’ where the tenancy agreement restricted the
use of land to agriculture only. We considered that the ‘open
farm’ was essentially a tourist attraction and a project to educate
children and therefore contrary to the user restriction. The
tenant sought a declaration from the court on whether the wording
in the tenancy agreement allowed the ‘open farm’ use. The
case was appealed by our clients to the Court of Appeal which found
in our client’s favour. The decision has important
ramifications for all farm tenancies. If tenants want to
diversify, they will need to look carefully in the first instance
at the wording of their tenancy agreements. They may then
need to negotiate with the landlord to undertake any future
diversification and the impact on the rent will have to be
considered.
Enterprise Management Incentive share option
schemes
When a farm is owned by a high-tech company where the non-family
management are suitable candidates for an Enterprise Management
Incentive (EMI) share option scheme, it is unlikely to be
attractive either to the current owners or to the prospective
shareholders for the farm to be involved in the new ownership
structure. In one such case, we were able to negotiate a
de-merger under which the farm was transferred to a new company
without tax charges before the option scheme was put into
effect.
agricultural ties
We are frequently consulted on the removal of Agricultural
Occupancy Conditions attached to planning permissions or as part of
a s106 Agreement. We have been able to assist owners in the
removal of such conditions by demonstrating to local authorities
that the occupancy condition is no longer appropriate. This
includes undertaking research of land use in the local area and
negotiating and agreeing with the local authority in question a
marketing campaign to demonstrate that the condition is
obsolete. This has in many cases added substantial value to
the properties concerned. We were also able to advise on the
potential tax consequences.
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