“The team offers professionalism at all times together with an approachable service and level of attention to detail. It has a great team ethic with many strings to its bow.”
“We were very impressed with Michelmores’ abilities to handle very challenging and quite unique legal structuring questions for our schemes. The team has delivered very high-quality work for us.”
“The team has full grasp of rural matters, third party rights but with sensitivity when dealing with both vendor and buyer. We could call upon a range of skills.”
“They are an excellent firm to work with, with a vast range of knowledge in real estate matters. They work as a team to ensure smooth transactions. Michelmores is a one stop shop for UHNIs.”
“Christian is lovely to deal with and is very experienced. He is such a big force in land and estates.”
“Tom Hyde is very thorough. He provides solid advice across a range of disciplines.”
“Christian Massey has extensive experience handling landed estate and rural property matters.”
Our dedicated Landed Estates team looks after a number of significant landed estates, agricultural, country house and high value residential properties across England and Wales. Working as part of the “Estate Team” with other trusted professional advisers on the estate our advice is coordinated and comprehensive. The team is ranked by Chambers High Net Worth, for Real Estate High Value Residential – National Leaders Outside of London.
The Landed Estates team
Our team comprises lawyers and other qualified professionals who have wide ranging interests and expertise in advising rural clients. These include Chartered Surveyors in the Rural Division of the RICS, a Chartered Accountant and a KC who understand the issues and demands affecting rural landownership.
We enjoy building and developing long-term relationships with our Clients and their families across multiple generations and helping them across all aspects of their lives.
The advice we provide
We work closely with a mix of well-known individuals, entrepreneurs, companies, trustees and charities on their property work. We thrive in acting on particularly sensitive and challenging matters whether in the country side or towns and cities.
Reflecting on the commercial environment in which many estates operate, our approach is to add value rather than to explain what cannot be done. For example the building of a Continuing Care Retirement Community on previously undeveloped land.
Typically our services include:
- asset structuring, succession and tax
- non contentious and contentious commercial and rural property and landlord and tenant matters
- planning and development
- finance arrangements
- employment matters
- regulatory matters
- The sale and purchase of landed estates, farms and country properties
- Tenancies, farm business tenancies and licences
We have also developed a new ‘bundle retainer’ fee model for Landed Estates and Rural Businesses. Find out more here.
How we advise
A lead partner is the main point of contact with responsibility for service delivery, cost control, full knowledge of the estate, the client and their strategic objectives and goals. Working closely with the other professionals the advice takes into account practical aspects or local sensitivities. For many clients we act as an “in-house” legal team in terms of engagement, responsiveness and service.
Our fees
We are flexible on fee arrangements from annual retainers, fixed fees or more traditional type arrangements to suit each individual client’s cashflow requirements and to ensure they receive best value.
Recent experience
Providing a full legal service to a 6,000+ acre estate including agricultural property, commercial property, contentious employment, planning and environmental and strategic private client, trust and tax advice. Recent work has included dealing with the negotiating of various commercial and agricultural leases, including with the Ministry of Defence, succession and tax advice for the family.
Providing a full legal service to a 4000+ acre Settled Land Act Trust estate including agricultural, commercial and residential property, employment, planning and strategic private client, trust and tax advice. Recent work has included high level private client advice on specific trust matters, negotiation of a lease of the principal mansion house for use as a hotel to a boutique hotel chain and strategic residential development advice.
Negotiating section 106 planning agreements and promotion agreements for landowners for residential development.
Acting for a large estate on a series of joint venture agreements for the delivery of housing on development land within the estate. The most recent has just exchanged with a major house builder on a site with consent for 350 dwellings.
Guiding a family-owned rural business through the creation of a family constitution. This family has a particularly wide range of engagement and varied professions among the family members.
Advising the beneficiaries of a number of trusts connected with a landed estate, including in relation to the divorce of one beneficiary, loans to fund the property development business of another beneficiary and advising in relation to long term inheritance tax planning.
Advising an estate in relation to continuing employment issues, including the contentious removal of the resident agent, the retirement of a finance assistant and the long term sick leave of a forester.
Acting for the purchaser of a substantial high value country house in the Cotswolds with numerous planning and listed building issues and a protected bat colony. From receipt of initial instructions from a new client in mid-December, an exchange of contracts and completion were secured in ten days to enable our clients to put up their Christmas tree and move into the house the day before Christmas Eve.
Assisting with the purchase of an agricultural property where detailed private water supply arrangements, the negotiation of a post-completion surrender of an AHA tenancy prior to exchange of contracts, the negotiation and drafting of bespoke agreements and grants of cross rights with neighbouring landowners and other purchasers, and a sub-sale of part of the property by our client to a sub-purchaser were all required. Navigating detailed negotiations with numerous parties, their Solicitors and land agents, I secured a positive outcome for our client.
Advising on the sale of a rural estate in the south east where additional work was involved to rectify Land Registry title issues, address listed building concerns, deal with employees and service occupancies and ensure the securing and auction of a significant art portfolio within the house for an offshore trust company. A team of specialist lawyers across the private wealth kaleidoscope was assembled to ensure that the Client was closely advised throughout the complex transaction.
Acting for the Seller of a substantial Landed Estate in Wiltshire with a substantial main house, agricultural, commercial and residential tenancies (including re-drafting 7 new agreements), a myriad of public rights of way, a private water supply and access issues. Navigating detailed negotiations with numerous parties, their solicitors and land agents I secured the sale and a positive outcome for our client.
Acting for the buyer of a complex and substantial farm with two FBT tenants, three commercial lets and a road widening scheme in progress. The farm consisted of 16 separate title and the buyer wanted to split the farm into two separate ownerships which involved complex drafting and negotiation of an overage agreement with bank borrowing. The sale completed and the client was delighted.
Acting for the buyer of a dairy farm as a going concern where the client with his siblings inherited the farm form their parents with bank borrowing. The purchase involved complex and detailed negotiations with solicitors acting for all the various parties as well as the seller’s solicitor and land agents in respect of the purchase of the livestock, deadstock and tenant right valuations and the complex division of the sale proceeds.
