Our teams are advising rural business and property owners of the importance of strategic planning to ensure they are resilient to the increasing number of financial challenges because of legislative and regulatory changes.
We are working closely with them to highlight the main challenges currently being faced by farmers and landowners including a loss of income from government subsidies combined with uncertainty around legislative change which will likely increase costs and liabilities. To sustain businesses for future generations we are advising farmers and landowners to consider conducting strategic reviews of their businesses to understand the current position of the business to prepare and plan for business resilience and protection of assets.
These reviews highlight and analyse the opportunities available for individual properties and entire portfolios and enable property owners to be proactive rather than reactive about potential legislative and regulatory changes to put themselves in the best possible position for the future.
One of our associate partners, Kate Mason, who works in our rural property management team, said: “There is a huge amount of financial uncertainty currently being faced by farmers and landowners.
“They are not only experiencing a loss in income as the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) continues to be phased out, but there are several other unknowns which could have major financial implications in the near future, and it is clear that rural property and business owners need to make strategic decisions now to future-proof their businesses.
“The current trend we are seeing is that many people are waiting for changes to be implemented before acting, but we are advising farmers, landowners and rural property owners to plan for the future. One of the most robust ways of doing this is looking at how to maximise the value of existing assets based on where business owners want to be in the next 10 to 20 years.”
Ellie Savage, one of our senior surveyors, added: “Inheritance tax could be one of the most significant implications, and it is yet to be seen if environmental schemes are deemed not to be agricultural and become taxable, leaving landowners facing larger inheritance tax bills which may not have previously been forecasted for in long-term budgeting.
“Landlords will also be affected by the potential ban of no-fault evictions, and while there has been a hiatus on the next phase of Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) reforms requiring landlords to make costly upgrades to improve the energy-efficiency of properties, it is something that remains in the background.
“Expert advisers can provide businesses with the expertise to identify a variety of diversification and income-generating options, while also reviewing opportunities such as environmental schemes and advising on which of these align with the long-term plans of a business.
“Strategic planning is key to ensuring businesses have a plan for the future that is as resilient as possible and achieves their objectives regardless of any potential changes which could have a negative financial impact.”
Find out more about strategic estate and asset reviews.
