My legal life: Andrew Holden

It started at ‘objection!’. Watching American television lawyers throw quick-witted remarks and hard-line judges shouting ‘Order!’ as they hit their gavel is what sparked my interest in a career as a solicitor. I was fascinated by the sharp arguments they used to unpick a witness testimony but also enjoyed comedies such as My Cousin Vinny. However, I quickly learnt that contentious law was not for me and felt myself being pulled towards property, which is what my family are involved in. I helped out on my family’s building site at a young age and so the world of property, land and construction has always been instilled within me.

It felt like fate played a role in getting me to where I am now. I started as a paralegal with a conveyancing firm and within three months was offered a training contract. Shortly after qualifying, I went to Inghams in Preston but, with signs that the Preston office was closing, I handed in my notice for another job with a new firm. This subsequently fell through at the last minute leaving me slightly stranded and just before the arrival of my first child. I was put in touch with Geoff Tomlinson at Napthens who was looking for someone with property experience and trained me on the agricultural side. It was fate really and I’ve never looked back.

My grandfather was a farmer so rural life has always been a part of my genes. Rural and agricultural law spans several specialities but there aren’t any courses on the Legal Practice Course to go down that route, or even to be told there’s such a thing as an agricultural lawyer.

Much of what I do requires complex niche property and land specialities, from buying and selling land to developers looking to purchase farmland to build properties or to offset their carbon footprint, as well as everything in between. We get referrals internally, or from other law firms unable to deal with the intricacies of agricultural law.

Most commercial and residential lawyers (Napthens excluded!) don’t realise how distinct and nuanced agricultural transactions are compared with regular ones. The sale or purchase of land is viewed through the lens of, for example, a housing developer or a residential buyer and not as a farming purchase, which can lead to costly mistakes for their clients. As a team we often experience lawyers potentially ‘dabbling’ in rural work on the other side of a deal. You quickly know whether the deal is going to go well or not based on the kind of questions they ask. There is definitely a knowledge gap and a need for specialist rural lawyers.

'It is great to see someone high-profile like Jeremy Clarkson shedding light on the issues farmers face'

Brexit has not significantly affected the nature of UK farming law or transactions just yet, although it has had commercial impacts. What I am seeing is a trend of more non-farmers buying land and wanting to get involved in the agricultural industry, usually as a tax haven. On the other hand, farmers are looking to diversify land usage on their farms to offer alternative income sources because of rising costs. Whether that is by installing glamping pods, fishing lakes, motocross sites, or robotic milking parlours, all of this kind of work requires specialist legal advice; especially for those on tenancies.

Farming is not about making money; it’s a lifestyle. British farmers love what they do. But on the horizon is the end of the flat-rate EU subsidies. The government has already said that they will not be offering the current grants and will be focusing on ‘public money for public good’, so we will see much more focus on the environmental uses of the land rather than the growing of crops and raising livestock.

We may see many farmers sell up and retire. As income falls, there will be a fall in the number of the next generation of farmers coming in and we may start to see more advice on succession and diversification planning, and how they can best extract the value from the land they own.

Clarkson’s Farm perfectly spotlights the challenges farmers are facing. It is great to see someone high-profile like Jeremy Clarkson shedding light on the issues they face, such as the administrative burdens of trying to diversify and the lack of profit despite the long hours and minimal holidays.

Much work needs to be done to protect the UK’s farming industry and this can be helped by amplifying the voice of rural communities. Right now, my focus is delivering the best outcome to my clients in what is an extremely competitive environment for land space and property development.