Agriculture
Leathes Prior has a history of advising agricultural clients on a comprehensive range of rural matters for over 130 years. Our agricultural lawyers are experienced in serving both commercial and personal requirements, offering practical advice on a wide range of legal matters to landowners, farming businesses, and individuals.
The LP Agriculture Team understand that navigating the complex landscape of agriculture law requires expertise and a strong understanding of the unique challenges facing farmers, agribusinesses, and rural communities. As a team we have extensive knowledge of the sector and therefore understand the pressures and challenges our clients face.
At Leathes Prior, we understand the vital role that agriculture plays in our society & contributes to the local community, our commitment is to provide practical, professional and personal legal advice to landowners, farming businesses, landed estates, institutions and others with interests in land and the wider rural economy.
In addition to the specialist services we offer, by collaborating with teams across the firm we offer a comprehensive range of legal services from an agricultural stand point to clients, tailoring a number of services specifically to the needs of those within the rural & agricultural communities.
Our team provides expert transactional support on all agricultural property, including sales and purchase, refinance & complex first registrations of farmland & agricultural property, leasing, financing and acting for landowners on rights of way and easements.
We also offer targeted environmental support to our agricultural clients, whose compliance requirements are only increasing.
Our team is able to deal with a full range of matters including farm inheritance disputes, tenancy disputes, rights of way, boundaries, shareholder disputes, nuisance claims and debt recovery.
We are proud to act for farmers, farming businesses and landowners across Norfolk and surrounding areas. Our experience lies in our ability to identify and understand our client’s individual needs, manage challenging family situations and provide a holistic advice and service that is required within the context of complexities that often arise within the sector.
Whether advice is required on succession planning, effective Inheritance Tax planning and taxation in general, Wills and Trusts or wealth preservation, the team has the requisite expertise to meet all challenges faced by clients that are operating within the agricultural sphere.
Our Corporate Team works in close collaboration with our commercial property colleagues, advising farming, agricultural and land-owning clients across Norfolk and the rest of the UK.
We can assist with farming partnership agreements, asset acquisitions and sales, supply agreements, finance agreements (including loans and refinancing) and a further array of commercial advice to assist you with your agricultural business.
Our Family Team specialise in assisting farmers/land owners or the spouses of farmers/land owners with family matters including divorce, financial settlements and Prenuptial agreements.
We act for many clients in the agriculture sector in all areas of employment law, including preparing bespoke employment contracts and policies tailored to the unique needs in this arena; managing staff; advising on employment disputes, termination and recruitment; acting in employment tribunal litigation and immigration assistance.
With our comprehensive understanding of the sector, we swiftly navigate complex workplace matters to ensure, where possible, a swift, practical resolution is reached. Our experience in the sector means our solicitors give relevant, specialist, practical and up to the minute advice on situations in your business as they develop.
Our Regulatory and Criminal Defence Team provides advice and representation to businesses and individuals operating in the agricultural sector, for example those facing HSE, Trading Standards, DVSA, Police, HMRC, GLAA and Environment Agency investigations and prosecutions, or Coroner’s Investigations and Inquests in the event of fatalities.
Make an Enquiry
What our clients say
Many thanks for this Alison and huge thanks to you personally for all your help and Leathes Prior, we are thrilled with the service/representation we received and would highly recommend Leathes Prior to others.
I was able to authorise Leathes Prior to undertake the sale of two agricultural fields let out to tenants, and Alison has been able to complete the sale of both fields without any fuss. She has been totally professional, liaising with the tenants’ solicitors (as well as my mother’s solicitor) and managed to streamline the process. I should also add that Alison had a very positive style of dealing with me as a client, and it gave me confidence that the work was being completed (unlike the firm that had been dealing with it). This is the third estate that I have had to deal with as an executor in the last five years, and I have been so impressed with the high-quality service provided by Leathes Prior
Darren Bowen has a broad practice covering contentious probates, agricultural disputes and real estate litigation. He is an expert in litigation. He is very good at bringing in the right experts and specialists for different jobs, he displays great customer care and is very tenacious.
Attention to detail and recommended for Commercial Litigation and Agriculture and Estates work, for their confident and pragmatic approach.
Leathes Prior’s Darren Bowen advises agricultural clients. Mike Barlow advised on a dispute concerning farming equipment installation.
In Darren Bowen the firm has a highly skilled property litigator who is respected by surveyors, land agents, landed estates and counsel, and whose expertise covers agricultural property disputes, particularly those involving probate matters.
Significant experience in acting for independent developers, landowners and retailers across the country, covering a broad range of contentious probates, agricultural disputes and real estate litigation.
Leathes Prior’s specialist team compares very well with the main competition in Norfolk. Litigator Darren Bowen is incisive, clear-thinking and a strong advocate for his clients, but always open to practical ideas for settlement.
Leathes Prior provide advice on all aspects of contentious property issues, including commercial, agricultural and residential landlord and tenant, boundary and development litigation. Particularly pronounced expertise in timeshare disputes, patient and measured in assisting with a long-running matter. They respond promptly and efficiently.
May I take this opportunity of thanking you both most sincerely for your help and assistance in concluding these arrangements. I appreciate that this has been a very long ongoing sale process, however it has been a pleasure to work with you both on this project and seeing the arrangements concluded.
Thank you so much for the update and good news! I am so grateful for all your hard work and persistence, and a brilliant outcome.
Thanks to our outstanding legal team, headed by Darren Bowen a Partner in Leathes Prior’s Dispute Resolution and Agricultural Teams we can now start trading again.
Autumn Budget 2025: Agricultural Property Relief & Business Property Relief Changes
It was announced in the 2025 Budget that from 6 April 2026, changes will be made to agricultural property relief and business property relief. These changes bring APR and BPR in line with the nil-rate band rules, meaning unused allowances can be transferred to a surviving spouse or civil partner. This is a significant step towards making estate planning easier for families who own farms or businesses.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is expected to come into force tomorrow (18 December 2025)
After an extended period of back-and-forth amendments between Parliament and the House of Lords, on 16 December 2025, the ERB finally received approval from the House of Lords, with the formality of Royal Assent due to take place tomorrow (18 December 2025). Head of LP Employment, Dan Chapman, explains...
.png)
Charity of the Month: The Matthew Project
Leathes Prior is delighted to be supporting The Matthew Project as our Charity of the Month for December 2025. The Matthew Project supports young people and adults across Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex to overcome issues around drugs, alcohol, and mental health, empowering them to rebuild confidence and lead fulfilling lives.
Leathes Prior’s Milan Pandit appointed President of the Norfolk & Norwich Law Society
Leathes Prior Solicitors is proud to announce that Milan Pandit, Solicitor in our Corporate & Commercial Team, has been appointed President of the Norfolk & Norwich Law Society (NNLS) for 2025/26.
Commercial Lease Renewals: A guide for Landlords & Tenants
Commercial lease renewals are a topic that every commercial landlord and business that rents commercial premises should have at the forefront of their minds. It is essential for good succession planning, though it is often neglected until the expiry of an existing lease term is looming or once the existing term has come to an end and the tenant is holding over. In this article, our newly qualified solicitor, Maggie Berry explores the process that landlords and tenants can expect when navigating this complex area of law.
Our Guidance, Your Legacy: What is a Will, and why should I make one?
Not only is a Will one of the most important steps you can take to protect your loved ones and ensure your wishes are respected, but it also limits the likelihood of a claim/dispute following your death. To ensure your loved ones and the causes you care about benefit from your estate, a Will is essential to ensuring this happens. Find out more in this article.
Lease extensions: The essentials to getting started
Extending your lease can seem complex, but taking the right steps early can make the process much smoother. Jake Mowatt, Associate and Harry Smith, Trainee Solicitor in our Residential Property Team outlines the key essentials every leaseholder should understand prior to extending their lease.
Upcoming changes to bringing employment law claims: What these mean for you
The highly anticipated Employment Rights Bill (ERB) is set to increase the time limits in which employees can bring an employment tribunal claim. Gareth Stevens & Rose Woolterton explain what this means for employers & employees.
Service Charges in Residential Leases: FAQs
Service charges are forever a hot topic in the world of property disputes, and it remains one of the most contentious areas between freeholders and leaseholders, particularly in long residential leases. Danny Turpin, Associate, discusses frequently asked questions regarding service charges on long residential leases.
Leathes Prior winners in nine categories in the prestigious Legal 500 Future Laywer Survey
We are thrilled to announce that the firm has placed once again in the Legal 500 Future Lawyer survey as No.1 in the UK for our Social Life; a ranking we have held in the survey for seven years out of the past nine years.
Jess’s Rule – New Guidelines for GPs
A new initiative is being rolled out across GP practices across England in the hope of preventing serious illnesses being missed by GPs where patients present with the same, or deteriorating, symptoms on multiple occasions. Kimberley Nelson in our Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence Team discusses new guidelines for GPs.
Leathes Prior are excited to announce that four Trainee Solicitors qualify at the firm
Leathes Prior is excited to announce that four of our amazing trainees, Eleanor Chapman, Maggie Berry, Alex Robinson, and Georgia Sartin, have successfully completed their training contracts and are now qualifying as Solicitors at the firm.
