Selling agricultural land in order for it to be developed can be difficult – so when a consortium if owners looked to sell their land they contacted Agriculture and Estates Partner Gareth Williams for expert guidance.
The land – some of which was subject to agricultural tenancies – needed to be sold in phases, some to the land promoter and some on the open market via a hybrid agreement. Alongside this, the value of the land needed to be equalised so each landowner received the same amount pro rata at each phase of the sale.
Gareth advised on the terms of the hybrid agreement, negotiating with the developer, along with the terms of the landowners’ collaboration agreement. He also liaised with tax advisors and prepared documents needed to transfer the land into a ‘land pool trust’ – where pieces of separately owned parcels of land are transferred into a trust so the proceeds of sale could be “equalised” between the owners. Gareth also advised on and negotiated the relevant documents for sale of phases of development.
His work meant his clients were able to realise the development potential of their agricultural land and share in the proceeds equally.