Our land, farm and rural team is made up of fully qualified chartered surveyors, graduate surveyors, rural property professionals and support teams, all sharing a passion for farming, agriculture and the rural landscape. We work with land owners, occupiers, landlords and tenants, developers, promoters and new homes builders across Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire and further afield.
We have been working with some of our clients and their families since our business first started 1888. Trust and knowledge developed through generations of professional support.
Rural services is where our business started and remains at the centre of our strategy. We are passionate about the land and farms, estates and clients that we serve and remain committed to making our region’s farmers and land owners successful in all that they do.
We offer a complete range of land and rural services. If you need a sales, rental or auction valuation for land, buildings, machinery, stock or produce, we can help you.
Equally, if you need support with diversification, planning, rural grants or subsidies, we are your local experts.
Whatever your question, whatever you need, with our breadth of experience and knowledge we will be able to support and assist you.
We understand rural property and businesses, it’s our passion. We strive to support farmers and land owners to achieve their land and property goals.
Exceptional service, complete peace of mind.
Expand the boxes below to find out more about the services we offer.
If you are unsure or don’t see the service you require listed below, please contact your local Rural team or click the ‘Contact Us’ button above
Our rural property team work with land, farms and all other property. Whatever you are dealing with, you can be sure we have the experience to help you.
The types of rural sales we are involved with are:
We will advise and assist you on the best way to market your property in order to achieve the maximum sale value or rental yield in the most effective and efficient way.
Our extensive regional knowledge and experience built up over many years, means that whether prior to or during a sale, we are able to advise, negotiate and troubleshoot on your behalf. This is often in conjunction with other professionals, such as solicitors or accountants, with whom we have built strong relationships.
Rural property is often sold by auction. For more details on how to offer your property for sale in one of our collective property auctions, please see our auction page.
Please contact us to discuss your property.
We host auctions across the Midlands covering a wide range of lots from farms, land, buildings and houses, through to machinery, farm equipment, livestock and produce.
Our auctions are conducted and managed by experienced and qualified professionals, alongside a fantastic support team. We have a computerised accounting and payment system, professional catalogue production and a large mailing list of clients interested in all types of property, machinery and livestock auctions.
We also offer online property auction options.
Please visit our Auctions page for more information.
Providing tailored long-term funding through AMC
We are proud to work with AMC, the leading supplier of long-term funding for the agricultural sector.
As AMC Agents, we can help provide you with tailored funding to support most rural business activities. You’ll benefit from simple, flexible and affordable lending to support your consolidation, growth or diversification plans.
Who is AMC?
AMC has more than 90 years’ experience lending to the agricultural sector, specialising in long-term mortgages and loans for farms and rural businesses. It means they understand the challenges and opportunities impacting you and the whole agricultural sector.
The benefits of an AMC Standard Loan
AMC’s Standard Loan allows you to borrow from £25,001 upwards. When we help you access this finance, you will receive a swift response to your funding proposal. You will also benefit from:
Please note that the above are subject to AMC credit criteria and your obligations to AMC continuing to be met.
Who can access AMC funding?
Whether you are a sole trader, partnership, limited company or trust, providing you are an agricultural, horticultural, equine or other commercial land-based business you can access AMC’s competitive funding.
All lending must be for business purposes only and will be provided on a secured loan basis. It can be used to support a number of different opportunities, including:
* There is always a possibility that interest rates may go down leaving a fixed rate loan at a higher level compared to a variable rate loan. However, if interest rates rise, a fixed rate loan will remain at the same rate.
How can Howkins & Harrison help?
As an AMC Agent, we have helped our clients find tailored and competitive agricultural loans through our relationship with AMC. We can provide expert guidance on your financial needs and a quick decision. To discuss the options of borrowing from AMC and how they could assist you please contact James Collier or Jeremy Watson using their details below.
AMC loans available for business purposes only, provided on a secured loan basis. Minimum AMC standard loan £25,001. To meet customer requirements, lending criteria will vary. Lending is subject to status.
We adhere to The Standards of Lending Practice which are monitored and enforced by the LSB: www.lendingstandardsboard.org.uk
These auction sales are often very similar to our Farm Dispersal Sales. The main difference being that the lots are from multiple sellers, although the main contributor often acts as the sale host.
We have a large following contributing and bidding at these auctions. The sales always have a great buzz and we see many types of lots coming through.
Sale hosts and contributors are often; builders merchants, garden centres, blacksmiths and farmers.
The most common lots we see are:
If you are considering a sale, as the host or as a contributor, please get in touch.
The H&H Equestrian team provide support, advice & practical help to the equestrian community for the buying and selling of specific equestrian property and for new equestrian property projects, from the initial concept through planning application and appeal processes.
Click through to the H&H Equestrian page for further information.
We hold many farm dispersal sales throughout the year. They often follow a retirement or restructuring of a family business. The sales are usually held at the premises and all the lots tend to be from the same contributor. We host sales across the region, working in; Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and into Oxfordshire. We have a large database of motivated buyers, who we send auction catalogues out to for all our sales. The auctions are always very lively and attract a large audience whatever the weather or types of lots being sold.
As part of these sales we see a very wide range of lots, but the most common are:
We have auctioned practically everything you can imagine as part of a dispersal sale. If you would like to explore your auction options, please visit our Auctions page or get in touch: dispersal.sales@howkinsandharrison.co.uk
We host auctions of farm produce for farmers throughout the Midlands all year round. These are very popular, attracting a wide range of buyers.
We are able to work with all type of fodder, crops and produce at all times of the year.
During the winter months of November to February, we host our Midshires Produce Auctions series at Lutterworth Rugby Club, offering hay, silage, straw and maize, either for delivery or collection.
With a large auction following from across the county and beyond, we welcome buyers and sellers travelling from far and wide for our sales.
We also host an annual grass keeping sale, where we sell grass for the season ahead and always proves a popular and well-attended event.
In July, we also host a ‘Straw in the Swath’ sale for the sale of standing crops.
We can advise property and land owners, who are looking to secure funding for a variety of projects such as:
Our team will work with you to prepare budgets and cash flows so that you can apply to the bank or mortgage company to secure funds.
We will advise on the types of funding available and the different types of repayment plans. We will also try to secure the best rates for you at the time.
Agricultural Mortgage Corporation
We are agents for the Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (AMC) and can make applications on your behalf directly to them and carry out the process from start to finish.
We have links with many other high street and specialist agricultural lending groups and are registered valuers for many of them, enabling us to act on your behalf in the preparation of a valuation report used to calculate the level of security the bank can offer you.
Click here for more information about AMC borrowing.
If you are looking to restructure your financial commitments, or wish to borrow for a new project, then please get in touch and we can help you.
The HS2 rail link will travel across parts of our area. We are working with our clients, land and home owners, to make sure they get the best outcome where impacted by the plans. If you are a landowner affected by HS2, or are the owner of residential or commercial property close to the route, please get in touch with us to see how we can help.
Contact one of our HS2 experts:
Option Agreements
Whether you are a landowner or a developer, you will find a well-negotiated option agreement to be of great benefit.
For a prospective purchaser, the agreement defines a timescale during which they have the option of purchasing a piece of land at a point in time that has been agreed in advance (usually the grant of planning permission). They gain the right to purchase the land, but it may not be required immediately. This allows flexibility, and provides time to secure other business that may be required before work can proceed.
For the landowner, an option agreement can often guarantee an upfront payment, as well as gaining a solid commitment from the developer that they will be seeking opportunities to purchase and develop the land in question once planning permission is obtained.
We know just how crucial it is to ensure an option agreement is fully and properly negotiated. The length of the agreement and the valuation of the land, as well as the detailed terms about who owes what and at which times, are all vital in making sure the agreement works properly for both parties.
Promotional Agreements
For a promoter, the agreement defines a timescale during which they have the right to promote the land to the local authority and to apply for planning permission.
For the landowner, a promotional agreement can often result in an upfront payment, as well as gaining a solid commitment from the promoter that they will be seeking opportunities to obtain planning permission on the land in question as quickly as they can.
Once planning permission is obtained the promoter and landowner work with us to market the property for sale to secure a sale to a developer. The sale proceeds are then split in accordance with the promotion agreement.
The length of the agreement, as well as the detailed terms about who receives what and at which times, are all vital in making sure the agreement works properly for both parties.
Our surveyors are qualified and experienced in both these specialist areas and we can provide you with considered and detailed advice.
Our team of dedicated Chartered Town Planners have many years of experience working in both the private and public sector and are furnished with a unique set of skills and insight to be able to help and advise you on any type of planning project.
We work with clients across the full spectrum of planning applications, appeals, and advice. Whether you have a question or project relating to your home, business, charity, public entity, educational establishment or rural business, we can help you with our planning consultancy service.
We work with landowners to promote land to local authorities to help maximise its value & will work in partnership with you to reach the best possible result.
Get in touch with us with for any type of planning question, appeal or application advice.
The Royal Town Planning Institute directory of Planning Consultants includes our company listing, which can be viewed following this link: RTPI
Not all applications for planning permission to Local Planning Authorities are successful, and inevitably some applications are refused. Our planning team has a reputation for innovation and problem solving to address issues raised by Councils.
Planning appeals:
We are often able to identify solutions to complex planning problems, through negotiation with Councils and through subtle changes to development projects.
In the event that a solution cannot be found, we also have considerable experience, expertise and an excellent success rate, in the handling of planning appeals on behalf of clients. Whether it is a written representation appeal, informal hearing or public enquiry.
We are able to manage the planning appeal process for you including instructing other experts to assist in the defence of the appeal.
Enforcement:
With our knowledge, expert contacts and vast experience of planning enforcement, we are in a strong position to assist you should you have an enforcement action served against you.
Our team have local planning authority backgrounds, making them highly qualified to advise you on any aspect of responding to enforcement action. This can be anything from negotiation with the Council, innovative problem solving through to challenging enforcement action at appeal.
We also have considerable experience in lodging applications for a certificate of lawfulness, a useful mechanism often used to avoid enforcement action.
Examples of enforcement issues services
If you have been served with a planning contravention notice, breach of condition notice, or enforcement notice, contact our team.
Whether you have a straightforward query about whether or not you require planning permission, or you are reviewing the development potential of a site, we are here to help.
We can draw on many years of experience with local planning authorities, to provide you with effective and sound planning advice, adding value to your project.
With the complexity of the planning process, increasing and ever changing submission requirements, together with increasing community involvement, it is more and more common for a formal pre-application request to be made to a Council. This is to establish the initial thoughts on a development project and the level of information it will require to support a planning application.
We can provide you with our own initial application appraisal and can handle the rest of the process on your behalf.
Our planning application service includes:
We also have access to a wide range of other professionals, crucial to the planning process. These include:
We have a varied caseload of projects on the go at any time.
We would be delighted to speak to you about any aspect of the planning process and advise you on your project.
Every year we work with our clients on both their annual applications and submissions, as well as advising on new applications, grants and subsidies.
We stay abreast of what is available for you and your business, and are ready to help and advise, so you can make the most of your ever changing options, year on year.
The main schemes we have expertise in are:
We are more than happy to visit you, or talk over the phone, to decide if you could benefit from one of the above schemes.
The types of grant work we are involved with are:
Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) & Countryside Stewardship (CS)
BPS is a European Union funded subsidy available to Landowners, Farmers and some Agricultural Tenants. The system is in transition to the Countryside Stewardship Scheme.
The aim of the scheme is to develop and improve the environment by:
We can support our clients to apply for the primary sections of the scheme, as follows:
If you would like more information on the scheme and whether it is something you could be benefitting from please contact our team and we can discuss the options with you.
We are experienced in acting for landowners in dealing with issues relating to utilities, easements, wayleaves and rights of way.
This includes practical issues like fencing off a working width, ensuring you have a suitable water supply, or dealing with financial issues, such as compensation for loss of land, loss in value of property, or crop loss.
We can also assist with the legal issues associated with the documents required by the acquiring authority.
We have fully qualified chartered surveyors and members of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, available to help and advise you.
In most cases, the acquiring authority will cover our fees.
Typical schemes we are involved with include:
Examples of the typical acquiring authorities who we will act against, on behalf of our clients include:
We can help advise and work with you to ensure you protect your assets and get the best possible outcome for you and your business.
The information below is for valuations for probate, other taxation and agricultural purposes. If you are looking to arrange a valuation in order to sell your residential property, please complete this form and one of our team will be in touch: Residential Property FREE market appraisal.
We are registered valuers and members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). As such, we are able to conduct your valuation in accordance with the RICS standards manual (often known as the Red Book).
Howkins & Harrison’s Rural and Commercial teams conduct valuations based upon a wealth of technical and local knowledge, of farms, land, industrial, commercial, retail, office space, residential, equestrian, developments and mixed use properties as individual or to form a part of portfolio valuations.
We regularly conduct formal valuations for the following purposes:
As our reports are compliant with the Red Book, you can rely on them for any required purpose including:
We also conduct negotiations with the district valuer, should this be required.
Buying property or borrowing money
If you are buying a property or borrowing money, we will carry out a valuation in order to confirm the purchase price of a property is sound. We are panel valuers for a number of institutions such as AMC, Lloyds, Barclays, Handlesbanken and many others.
Matrimonial valuations
These can be jointly or independently appointed by you or a solicitor. We will provide a valuation in accordance with your instructions that can be relied on individually or by both parties as well as by the courts. We can also provide valuations on an informal basis, to let you know what your property is worth prior to placing it on the market. This is done on a no obligation basis in the form of a sales and marketing report.
If you would like to speak to a member of the team regarding your property, land for valuation needs, please use the direct dial numbers from our team members below, or call our Rural offices on:
We have developed a considerable portfolio of estate management work and we now acting as managing agent for approximately 280 clients.
We are managing agents for three large rural estates, amounting to about 7500 acres, as well as a further 6000 acres of land management work for individual clients.
We regularly undertake external consultancy work for other landed estates.
We manage approximately 2,000 residential dwellings for approximately 1200 clients and have a growing commercial management portfolio comprising office, retail and warehouse units. We also have a growing block management portfolio for long leasehold management.
The total rent roll for our property management work is approximately £27m per annum, which is managed by our in-house accounts team using Re-Leased and Alto PM property management software.
BSc (Hons) MRICS
Associate Partner
BSc (Hons) FAAV
Associate Partner
Rural Professional & Agency Assistant
BSc (Hons) MRICS
Senior Rural Surveyor
BA (Hons) MSc MRICS FAAV
Partner & Head of Rural
BSc (Hons) MRICS FAAV
Partner
BSc (Hons) MRICS FAAV
Partner
FRICS FAAV
Farm & Rural Consultant
BSc (Est Man), FRICS, FAAV
Chairman
FRICS FAAV
Senior Consultant
BSc FRICS FAAV
Partner
FRICS FAAV
Rural Consultant
BSc (Hons) MSc MRICS
Senior Rural Surveyor
BSc (Hons) MRICS
Partner
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