The Landed Estates & Farm Tax Conference: The 4th Annual Edition

Hannah specialises in providing advice and support to a range of clients including landed estates, agribusinesses and the commercial sector. Hannah provides a wide breadth of compliance and advisory services, covering accounts, audit, and taxation matters.

Her approach to client care is to ensure that she fully understands her clients, their core challenges and opportunities and in turn develops strong working relationships them.

Hannah has both accounting and tax qualifications which enables her to offer a fully integrated, pragmatic approach when advising her clients.

Hannah is a member of the firm’s Land and Rural Group and Estates Discussion Group. She has presented at internal and external events including the firm’s annual Rural Business updates.

Rebecca is recognised as a leading junior in property and agricultural work. She specialises in property and all aspects of landlord and tenant law.  She has a particular interest in developments and agricultural land focusing on restrictive and freehold covenants, easements and complex issues surrounding the recovery of land.

Recent notable cases include the first appellate case in England and Wales on the availability of equitable set- off to defeat a notice to quit pursuant to Case D, Sch.3 Agricultural Holdings Act 1986, Spencer v Secretary of State for Defence [2019] EWHC 1526 (Ch); [2019] 1 WLR 6065;  the proprietary estoppel case of Windsor- Clive v Rees [2021] EWHC 3180 (Ch); forfeiture/ subletting case of Bedford v Paragon Asra Housing Ltd [2022] L&TR 7 and the recent Court of Appeal decision in Stampfer v Avon Ground Rents [2022] EWCA Civ 1375; [2022] 1 WLR 68 on recovery of administration charges for collection of ground rents.

Rebecca is a contributor to three editions of Service Charge and Management: Law & Practice, Halsbury’s Laws and Jowitt’s Dictionary of English Law (Landlord and Tenant).

Rebecca is a fellow of the Agricultural Law Association and member of the Property Bar Association and Ecclesiastical Law Association.

She has been recommended in real estate and agriculture in Chambers UK and Legal 500 (Tier 1) for a number of years. 

Rupert is a Senior Associate in the Landed Estates and Agriculture team, advising on a wide range of property-related rural matters.

Rupert acts for landowning clients and buyers in relation to all aspects of rural property, including sales and purchases of farms and estates, first registrations, option agreements, easements and rights of way, sporting rights, agricultural tenancies and licences and commercial tenancies of diversified agri-businesses (including sporting leases). He is regularly involved with some of the more esoteric aspects of this type of work, including dealing with land subject to the Settled Land Act 1925 and advising on notices to quit pursuant to the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986.

Rupert read Modern Languages at Pembroke College, Oxford before completing his academic legal training. Since his training and qualifying at Clifford Chance LLP, Rupert has practised as an agricultural property lawyer in Oxford and Cheltenham. He joined the Army in 2015 and served as an officer in the Army Legal Services, retiring as a Major in 2021.

Rupert still serves as a Major in the Army Legal Services (Reserve). He also has a keen interest in country sports and rural affairs.

He qualified in 2011 and joined Payne Hicks Beach in 2022.

Described by Chambers & Partners as ‘an exceptional barrister’, Aidan Briggs has established himself as a specialist advocate and advisor for trusts, estates and property disputes. His regular trial experience in the High Court gives him the edge in the courtroom and makes him a favourite for factually complex cases where effective cross-examination may be the difference between winning and losing. 

Aidan’s practice covers the full range of private client matters: contested probate and 1975 Act claims, partnership disputes and contentious trusts work (both on- and offshore) as well as proprietary estoppel, commercial landlord and tenant disputes and trusts of land. His cases often involve multiple jurisdictions and issues of domicile.

Aidan is fully versed in the tax implications of private client disputes and regularly advises in relation to Inheritance Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Stamp Duty Land Tax matters, particularly as they affect farmland and farming families.

Elizabeth Wilson practises in all areas of revenue law with particular emphasis on personal and corporate tax. Recent advisory work includes advice and planning on capital gains and income tax for individuals and trusts (onshore and offshore), inheritance tax agricultural and business property reliefs, pensions, corporate tax (loan relationships, intangibles etc), and SDLT (including the scope of s75A and other anti-avoidance measures). She advises taxpayers and the Crown. Elizabeth’s litigation practice covers corporation tax, personal tax and SDLT and she has achieved successful outcomes for her clients in all courts from the First-tier Tribunal to the Supreme Court, both acting alone, and as the leader of a team.

Peter specialises in Landed Estates but also manages a mixed portfolio of clients which include wealthy individuals, owner managed businesses, agribusiness and not-for-profit entities. He provides a bespoke service to clients by helping them with both their audit and accounting needs, their tax compliance requirements and tax planning.

Peter is a regular speaker at both internal and external events. Recent external audiences have included RICS and Energy Now Expo.

Peter is a member of the firm’s Landed Estates Practice Group, Renewable Energy Team and Estates Discussion Group.  He is also a committee member of the ICAEW’s Farming and Rural community.

Matthew is a partner in the private client and tax team, with a focus on farms and landed estates.

Key to his success is in advising clients on how to hold and retain family assets and businesses and the effective transfer to successive generations. He has the ability to listen and understand the objectives and aims of the client before coming up with solutions to achieve those goals.

These skills have allowed Matthew to advise a wide range of clients who do not own rural property, many of whom have connections outside of the UK, in particular the Middle East, the US and low tax jurisdictions.

In 2015, Matthew was named as one of the best Landed Estates lawyers in the Spear’s 500 list, one of only 10 lawyers profiled in the UK.

Elsa is a partner in the private client tax team and specialise in advising the individuals behind the wealth. The types of clients that seek out her advice and guidance cover a broad range of people including family offices, entrepreneurs, families, landed estates and trustees. She is recognised for her deep technical expertise in the field of wealth and asset structuring both in the UK and from a global perspective.

Tim Coates is a 3rd generation farmer - currently in an aggressive regenerative transition. He is a Director of the North East Cotswold Farmer Cluster community interest company, England’s largest farmer cluster and is also the Managing Director of the Evenlode Landscape Recovery - the cluster’s Natural Capital Special Purpose Vehicle. 

Tim was the co-founder and Chief Customer & Regulatory Officer of Oxbury Bank Plc, the UK’s only dedicated bank for food, farming and the rural economy where he implemented a Responsible Impact and Natural Capital approach to strategy, including being the first UK Financial Institution to fully disclose under the TNFD framework. 

He now supports projects across the UK on raising finance for nature as Chief Investment Officer at Great Yellow. He has advised numerous financial institutions on interactions with the rural and farming community, including contributing to reports and research by the Green Alliance, Bankers for Net Zero and the Green Finance Institute. He also sits on the Board of the Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership responsible for the county’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy.

Nicholas has practiced in the south-east since 1991 and is Head of Land Management in Sussex and Surrey, overseeing the largest team of land agents in the region from his base in our Lewes Office.

He specialises in giving strategic advice to landowners and planning and managing their businesses in a creative and intelligent way that meets their personal goals. He is experienced in strategy reviews for landed estates. Nicholas has particular interest in business management, is commercially very aware and is a skilled negotiator. In addition, Nicholas regularly provides Expert Witness valuation advice and is experienced in giving expert evidence in court. He also leads our viticulture team in Sussex and Surrey, having advised producers on viticultural property for twenty years.

By approaching problems with the analytical and intellectual rigor of an academic, Roland offers far more than formulaic land and property investment advice. Nine Oxbridge colleges, The Wellcome Trust, and several landed families deeply trust his objective and rational view of the rural investment market.

Roland leads the provision of management services and strategic advice for his client’s complex portfolios in the UK’s fast-changing rural investment market. He delivers acquisitions and disposals, manages lease arrangements and leads development activity, providing professional support in some of the UK’s most interesting and highly sustainable markets.

These green infrastructure and natural capital markets will form a significant part of the UK’s future green economy, but this ecology graduate is already a veteran in the space having delivered net gain in biodiversity during development for more than a decade across projects worth £15bn.

His understanding of ecological objectives, the economics of land management, policy and regulatory issues, and practical delivery is helping shape these transformative new markets through the innovative schemes and investment opportunities he delivers.

By applying the financial rigour he’s renowned for to green infrastructure markets and opportunities - forensically analysing risk, returns and liabilities - Roland is helping his clients seize some world-changing and rewarding opportunities.

Philip is a private client partner who acts for a large number of farmers, landowners and high-net worth individuals. He has particular expertise in advising on succession planning and the structuring of farm businesses. His approach is to give practical and workable solutions to clients taking into account their circumstances and particular needs and wishes. He deals will all aspects of Wills, capital tax planning (including advice around issues relating to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief), trusts, heritage assets, probates and farming partnerships; advice which requires a high level of technical knowhow combined with commercial acumen.

Philip is a Fellow of the Agricultural Law Association, a member of the Country Land and Business Association and ranked in Legal 500, Chambers High Net Worth Guide and Spear’s 500. He regularly lectures nationally to professionals on capital taxation, Wills, trusts and farming business structures. As well as being on the editorial advisory board for Farm Tax Briefing and a contributor to Stanley’s Taxation of Farmers and Landowners he has written a book entitled A Practical Guide to the Law of Farming Partnerships.