Development of Agricultural Land

When you would like to realise the development potential of your land, our Agriculture and Estates team has the legal expertise you need. Our experts work closely with you to ensure the transaction is set up to ensure you maximise all the benefits.

Gareth Williams

Key contacts

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Emily Pumfrey

Partner

My family have farmed in Cambridgeshire for over 100 years. Through this first hand experience,  I understand that farming is a way of life, not just a job. As such, I am ideally placed to help explain legal concepts in your terms and to consider what they mean for you and your business.

Gareth Williams

Partner

As a farmer’s son who grew up on a dairy farm in Herefordshire, agricultural and rural business law has always been a passion of mine. Specialising in this area allows me to remain working with and supporting an industry I know, and which is of fundamental importance.

HCR Agriculture and Estates team talking on a farm with a client

Minimise the risk and maximise the potential

We have a wealth of experience with development transactions, meaning we can handle everything from a small sale up to a complex development with multiple landowners, frequently acting as the lead lawyer.

Our experience covers advising on:

  • The terms of agreements to enable the development of agricultural land, particularly promotion agreements, option agreements, hybrid agreements and landowner collaboration agreements
  • Documents for land pooling and other land value equalisation structures
  • Resuming possession of land with tenanted and regularising boundaries, covenants and other rights to enable the development of agricultural land.

Our clients include owner-occupier farmers, farming partnerships, farming companies, landed estates, institutional investors, conservation charities and people who hold rural land.

They trust us to help them realise the development potential of their land and reduce the risk of entering into complex and high value transactions.

two women and one man standing in a field with a stately home in the background

A team that understands what’s at stake

Our experience acting for farmers and landowners means we understand your development transactions need to fit with your existing business and, often, your family’s succession plans.

Our standing in the agricultural sector means we’re well-placed to draw on the support of specialists who work with rural businesses and estates in the context of development of agricultural land.

Alongside our agriculture and estates expertise, we can also call on the expertise of our colleagues in our Private Client team and other tax advisors to ensure the proceeds of any sale can be dealt with tax efficiently.

In other words, we take the time to get to know you and your business so we can provide pragmatic support that’s commercially sound, technically correct and emotionally intelligent.

Hear what our clients say about us

Stephanie is always very quick to respond to any queries and always keeps clients informed during complex matters. She is extremely diligent and always seeks to provide a solution to issues.

Client testimonial Chambers 2026

Rory is a farmer himself and really knows about farming which helps a lot in dealing with agriculture clients. He is also thorough in the advice he gives and is particularly practical and pragmatic.

Client testimonial Chambers 2026

Greg Hill is conscientious and efficient, supportive, and understanding of circumstances.

Client testimonial Chambers 2026

Gareth Williams has been exceptional on options and large property transactions. I doubt there is a lawyer with more understanding in this field.

Client testimonial Chambers 2026

Emily Pumfrey is hard working, knowledgeable and doesn’t dodge a fight on behalf of her client.

Client testimonial Chambers 2026

Denise is wonderful to deal with and the breadth of her experience in landownership issues is very impressive. She is also excellent on land development and newer areas.

Client testimonial Chambers 2026

Rory Hutchings is a very good networker and is able to understand our needs and signpost us to the right piece of advice.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

We deal with Stephanie Dennis in the Agriculture team and the support we receive is always first class. She has extensive knowledge of a wide range of areas and her advice is always tailored to the circumstance which is extremely important for us. She is an excellent communicator and always gives prompt and relevant advice.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

Gareth Williams is unrivalled in the field of option agreements, promotion agreements, and solar agreements. Stephanie Dennis is equally skilled in all aspects of rural work. Both are prepared to go the extra mile. They give clear sound advice and are not afraid of pointing out the exposure to risk in any deal.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

Denise Wilkinson‘s understanding of our needs has been amazing. Her retention of the detail of our portfolio of land holdings has saved us hours of delving through paperwork. She has been incredibly adept at developing solutions to problems, while ensuring we understand associated risks at all stages. When problems have arisen in other areas of our work, she has been quick to find us appropriate support. We are particularly grateful to Denise for her rapid grasp of complicated proposals, and the thoroughness of her advice.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

HCR’s agriculture and estates team have been advising us on a range of issues for many years. We have been very impressed with both the breadth and depth of their knowledge. It has been really important to us that HCR have understood our work and how it is evolving. They have been incredibly thorough in their advice, having dealt with complicated purchases for us recently, but they have also been highly adaptable, offering solutions to new processes, such as agreements for the provision of Biodiversity Net Gain.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

I have worked with both Denise Wilkinson and Emily Pumfrey jointly representing a client. Both Denise and Emily provided an excellent quality of service that was distinctive in respect of their level of expertise, due diligence, eye for detail and the way in which they were able to explain complex points of detail in simple terms for everyone’s benefit, including out client.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

Recognition of our work

Investors in People

Investors in People

Legal 500 2026 – Top Tier Firm

Legal 500 2026 – Top Tier Firm

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