Agricultural Solicitors

The Agricultural and Landed Estates Group has extensive experience of working with farming and rural businesses (including businesses in the agricultural supply chain), agricultural organisations, landowners, investors in the agricultural sector generally, landed and family estates and smallholders. Myerson Solicitors are recognised by Review Solicitors as one of the top agricultural specialists in the North-West. 

We offer a comprehensive range of specialist agricultural legal services to cover both commercial and personal needs, including:

• Land Sales & Purchases;
• Commercial Leases;
• Options, Land Development;
• Promotion Agreements;
• Corporate structures for businesses and families, joint business ventures, buying and selling assets and business entities;
• Succession Planning;
• Wealth Protection and Inheritance Tax Planning;
• Proprietary estoppel claims
• Family Issues;
• Property and agricultural disputes.

Typically a matter may require advice from more than one specialist.  We would put together an appropriate team to ensure that clients receive a seamless and integrated service.

We aim to help our clients to future proof their businesses and personal affairs and protect their assets for further generations.  We offer clients tailored advice to assist in structuring their affairs and managing risk.

We work closely with a network of agricultural surveyors, accountants, banks, financial advisors and rural and farming consultants, so that where appropriate we can make the necessary introductions to our clients in order to help them achieve their objectives.

In 2023, The Legal 500 ranked our services as Tier 1 within the North West. The Legal 500 also stated our agriculture and estates department provides a ‘high level of knowledge and expertise’.

We are members of the National Farmers Union and the UK200 Agricultural Group.

Our specialist agriculture solicitors can assist with the full range of agricultural legal issues. This includes:

Land, agricultural premises and estates

The Group acts on a wide range of agricultural-related property matters involving rural businesses.

We advise and assist with farm, estate and development land sales and purchases including conditional contracts, overage arrangements, options and transactions involving the need for changes in planning.

We have particular expertise in selling and purchasing land for development. Such transactions require careful structuring and specialist documentation depending on the individual case. We help find the most appropriate structure and draft the necessary documentation to include preparation of promotion agreements, joint-venture documentation and other conditional agreements.

Our clients are often looking to diversify and explore commercial opportunities. These may involve the grant of rights for drainage mining/minerals opportunities, access rights, and renewable energy etc. We are able to provide specialist advice and work with our network of professional contacts in these areas to ensure our clients can take the best advantage of the opportunities and minimise risk.

We support our clients’ business diversification activities and assist with their commercial lease requirements, advising at heads of terms stage and transactionally.

We recognise that not all business relationships proceed smoothly and from time to time issues can arise. We are able to provide commercial advice in relation to property and business disputes on a cost-effective basis.

Business Structures

Every landed estate and agricultural business has different challenges and opportunities.  This may involve diversifying the current business offering, entering into a new business venture or restructuring the business to facilitate a smooth transition to the next generation.  We will bring fresh thinking and commercial solutions.

We regularly advise our agricultural and rural clients and also have particular expertise in respect of:

• preparing and advising on constitutional documentation (i.e. shareholders agreements, partnership agreements and limited liability partnership agreements);
• retirement and admission of new partners/shareholders;
• succession and retirement planning;
• mergers and farm sharing arrangements; and
• advising on the transition from the traditional partnership model to a limited company status or a hybrid mix of the two.

We take the time to understand your business structure to ensure that you receive legal advice appropriate to your specific circumstances.

Succession Planning & Wealth Management

Our specialists regularly advise farming families, rural business owners and landowners on the best way to pass their assets on to their family. Planning is essential to ensure that this is done in a tax-efficient way and to minimise the likelihood of disputes after death.

Often our clients need trust advice to enable them to protect wealth and look after their beneficiaries. We can advise on whether a trust is suitable for your situation and explain how this would work in practice.

Our experts can assist with the following common concerns:

• Inheritance tax planning and the availability of reliefs, such as Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief;
• preparing tax-efficient Wills suitable to your circumstances;
• protecting assets from third parties, for vulnerable beneficiaries or for tax purposes;
• preparing for times of illness or issues with mental capacity;
• how to fairly divide assets between beneficiaries;
• dealing with a business after death.

We work with other experts within the property and corporate teams, as well as other professionals, to provide tailored, all round advice. We find that our clients value our practical and personal approach, which ensures that they get the right advice for their circumstances and their concerns.

Dealing with a farm on divorce can be complicated, often due to the fact that it may have been in the same family for generations.

On divorce, the courts are able to transfer or sell land, distribute business assets or transfer shares between the couple involved.

It would be rare for a court to order the sale of an entire farm. However, during a farming divorce, the courts have to ascertain the value of the assets and ensure that the departing spouse has received a fair outcome. In practice, this means trying to find a way to buy the departing spouse out of the farm.

Our specialist family law team can assist you with any issues relating to divorce where there are farming related assets involved.