Landed Estates & Farm Tax Conference: The 3rd Edition

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.

Sophie is a director in the Oxford rural team and advises on the management and strategy of rural estates.

Sophie's primary role is to advise on the management and strategy of rural estates. This includes: in hand and let farms, residential property, sporting lets, woodland, minerals, leisure, renewables, a wide range of commercial property together with planning and development.

Philip has been rated by Spear’s 500 as one of the country’s leading property consultants in their inaugural list in 2010 and then for the last 5 consecutive years.

After graduation from the Royal Agricultural University, he qualified as a Chartered Surveyor with a leading regional firm. He then joined Knight Frank in 1998 where he was appointed Partner and established the Country House Consultancy department, before moving to become a Director of Savills in 2007 and establish the London & Country House Consultancy department. In a career spanning over 30 years, Philip has acted for the new owners in many of the highest profile and most complex house and estate purchases.

Elizabeth specialises in advising large and complex family groups, particularly those involving trusts. Her client base ranges from landed estates and their associated enterprises, to families who have diversified away from the original family business, realising capital, and who now require private wealth advice.

As a private client adviser she also advises high net worth individuals, both those domiciled in the UK and outside the UK. Whilst Elizabeth’s role has an advisory focus, she oversees the compliance aspects on her clients, including the annual tax compliance and, where relevant, the preparation of trust accounts.

Elizabeth is a member of the firm’s Private Wealth and Estates Group, Trust Forum and Estates Discussion Group. She has presented at internal and external events including the firm’s annual Rural Business updates.

Elizabeth joined Saffery Champness at the start of 2017, after having trained in the Private Client team at a ‘Big 4’ firm. Whilst there she had a mix of UK and international clients and worked for short periods overseas in Switzerland, Monaco and Luxembourg.

Simon 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, with Chambers UK 2019 noting: “He has a very creative way of thinking and approaching matters... he’s got a huge eye for detail”.

Professional Memberships:

Agricultural Law Association

Country Land and Business Association

Qualified 2009, joined Payne Hicks Beach 2018, partner 2018. 

I head up the Agriculture team at Michelmores and I advise on a broad range of contentious agricultural matters, helping clients to navigate their way through difficult issues in a constantly evolving sector.

My expertise includes agricultural property disputes, contractual disputes, co-ownership and trust disputes. I have particular expertise in landlord and tenant, succession and  farming partnership disputes and my practice also covers estoppel claims, rights of way, possession claims, natural capital issues, issues relating to the potential development of land, agricultural banking and insolvency.

I am often brought in to provide strategic advice at the outset, but in more heavily contested matters I attend mediations and take cases through arbitration, Tribunal or court proceedings.

The experience that I have gained in advising on contentious matters leads me to have a unique insight into advising on the pitfalls to avoid when dealing with partnership formation and dissolution, the grant or surrender of tenancies and complex restructurings including the division of land as family businesses evolve.

My client base is broad and spread across England and Wales.  I act for farming businesses, entrepreneurs, land owners, estates, lending institutions, receivers and local authorities.

I regularly lecture to the RICS and CAAV and to groups of accountants.  I contributed to the LexisNexis Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents, Agricultural Tenancies Volume and also to the 10th Edition of Scammell, Densham and Williams’s Law of Agricultural Holdings.

After gaining a degree in History at Exeter, including a year spent studying at the University of Amsterdam, Matthew qualified as a solicitor in 2004. He joined Hunters in 2007, becoming a Partner in 2012.

Matthew has experience of most areas of private client work, in particular lifetime and post-death tax and succession planning for UK individuals and has considerable experience in probate and estate administration, including complex estates involving business and agricultural property, as well as cross border issues. His practice also encompasses Lasting Powers of Attorney, applications to the Court of Protection in respect of statutory wills and lifetime gifts, and the administration of trusts. Matthew’s work involves supervising other members of the team in relation to the full range of private client work, including probate.

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. 

With over 20 years’ experience advising on stamp duty issues and as author of the leading textbook on stamp duty, I am widely recognised as a leader in this field.

I am a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and joined Blick Rothenberg in May 2019.

With over 20 years’ experience advising developers, investors, occupiers, funds and individuals on stamp duty in connection with real estate transactions, group reorganisations, corporate reconstructions and capital markets matters, I am widely recognised as a leader in this field. Like a stick of rock, the words “stamp duty” run through me.

I am widely consulted across all areas of stamp duty work and have contributed to the development of government policy, tax authority practice and statute on stamp duty, as well as writing and editing the leading textbook on stamp duty – Sergeant & Sims on Stamp Taxes – and a textbook especially for conveyancers – The Stamp Duty Land Tax Handbook: A Guide for Residential Conveyancers and the stamp duty chapter in Tolley’s Tax Planning 2022-23.

I am a regular commentator in the media on stamp duty issues and have been quoted in a variety of publications over the years, including the Times, the Telegraph, the Financial Times, the Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror, Tax Journal, Taxation, Tax Adviser, Estates Gazette, Property Week, Law Society Gazette and The Conveyancer and Property Lawyer.

I speak at and/or chair a variety of stamp duty events, including PRT’s SDLT Conference, IBC’s SDLT Conference, LexisNexis and Law Society Webinars and the Stamp Taxes Practitioners Group Annual Conference.

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.

James joined the Hunters commercial property team in February 2021, becoming a partner in October 2021.

James has a wide experience of managing commercial property transactions including investment, development, secured lending and general landlord and tenant work. He also has experience of agricultural property matters. James has worked with some of the UK’s largest property companies, overseas funds and UK retailers but is equally at home, and applies the same care, when dealing with SMEs, high net worth individuals and entrepreneurs.

Alistair has practised in the areas of agricultural and rural property, commercial property and estate planning over more than 40 years. During that time he has represented a wide variety of individuals, corporations, trusts and foundations in the acquisition, management and disposal of properties of all types but over the last 20 years or more with a particular interest in forestry, rural and agricultural, estate, country house and mixed properties.

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.

Jeremy Moody has been Secretary and Adviser to the CAAV since 1995. He was closely involved with the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995, several rounds of CAP reform and now the Brexit process.

He handles the many issues covered by the CAAV across the United Kingdom including agricultural tenancy and land occupation issues, taxation, valuation and telecommunications, liaising with government at all levels and writing widely on both policy and practice. He is an Assembly member of the European Group of Valuers’ Associations (TEGoVA) and Vice Chairman of the European Valuation Standards Board.

Abby is a Partner in the Family and Divorce team who specialises in matters involving all aspects of private family law and in particular complex financial issues and private children cases.

Abby is recognised in Chambers UK, Chambers High Net Worth Guide, Legal 500 UK and Spear’s Family Law Index. She was shortlisted as Woman of the Year - Rising Star in the Powerwomen Awards.

Abby is a member of the Founding Committee for Thought Leaders4 HNW Divorce Next Generation committee and has spoken at and chaired numerous ThoughtLeaders4 events. 

After reading English Literature at The University of Manchester, Abby went on to complete the Graduate Diploma in Law and the Legal Practice Course in Bloomsbury. Abby was a paralegal at a magic circle firm in their Mergers and Acquisitions team before commencing her training contract with a Lincoln’s Inn firm in 2008 and qualifying into their Family Team in 2010. Abby joined Kingsley Napley in 2012 and was made partner in 2020. 

Laura practises in all areas of taxation, acting in the course of disputes and litigation and offering planning and compliance advice. Laura regularly provides private client tax advice, as well as acting in litigation on personal tax. She has particular expertise on residence and domicile, as well as issues arising from trusts.

She has in recent years appeared in a number of high-profile pensions, employment remuneration and VAT cases, both for the taxpayer and HMRC (as a member of the A Panel). 

Laura has acted in a number of significant cases dealing business tax issues, ranging from owner-managed businesses to large corporations, and also provides advice on these matters. She also appears regularly in cases dealing with remuneration issues, dealing with both income tax and NICs. 

Idina Glyn is a Partner in the Private Group, specialising in advising landed estates, UHNW individuals, rural businesses, and charities. 

She acts on transactional and advisory property matters, including the acquisition, tax, succession, and ownership of country houses and estates, alongside onshore tax, trust, charity, and super prime central London property matters.

She has a particular interest and expertise in acting for owners of high profile landed estates and rural businesses with commercial or charitable enterprises, such as house opening businesses and vineyards.

Idina has been recognised as a Top Recommended Landed Estate Lawyer by Spear's.