Lisa Robinson

Lisa handles a wide range of all aspects of agricultural property, including: the sale and purchase of farms as a whole or in lots, auctions, farm business tenancies, property aspects of business transfers, sales and purchase of both freehold and leasehold properties and granting and taking business leases.

Notable Commercial Property cases

• Surrender of Tenant Holding
  

  Acting for the tenant farmer in dealing with a surrender of his holding under an Agricultural Holdings Act tenancy. Dealing with the legal aspects to put into place the terms agreed for the surrender which involved a transfer of the freehold of the farmhouse to tenant farmer, with a licence to occupy the front garden of the farmhouse for his lifetime, at a peppercorn rent. A new 10-year farm business tenancy for the farm buildings and part of the land, and also a 6-month grazing licence to occupy part of the land until the land was required for the housing development and the road improvements.

• Sale of Farm
  

  Acting for clients owning a large farm comprising a farmhouse, a separate cottage, and 5 holiday lets, agricultural barn, farmyard and agricultural land with a private communal shared access, and communal private water supply from a borehole and water storage tanks. Complex sale in eleven separate lots, dealing with the necessary provisions on the sales of parts with the future maintenance and repair of the communal access and shared water supply, and payment of financial contributions towards their upkeep by each property owner and ensuring future enforceability of these agreements between the various parties.

• Sale of Farm
  

  Acting in a complex sale of two farms including a farmhouse, outbuildings and land sold in three separate lots with three separate selling sellers. Dealing with release and re-finance with Lender and requirement of the selling pension company.

• Grant of Option Agreement
  

  Acting for the landowner in advising and agreeing a five year option to grant a lease of 30 years for a battery storage facility excluded from the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 secured over part of the farm including liaising with landowner’s agents, advising and obtaining the Bank’s consent to the option and lease.

• Purchase of Commercial Unit
  

  Acting for clients in purchasing a new, bespoke constructed unit to relocate their garage business. Negotiating a contract with the developer with an option to either lease or purchase a newly constructed unit once the developer had obtained planning permission and building regulation approval and structurally completed the construction of the unit. Unit was completed in February 2021 and clients proceeded to purchase the unit.

• Sale of Haulage Business & Associated Property
  

  Sale of a fleet of agricultural haulage lorries with the transfer of lorry drivers, grant of a commercial business lease of part of the haulage yard, with a services agreement for maintenance, repair and MOT.

  This was a complex sale which involved lawyers from Coodes’ Company Commercial, Employment and Agricultural Commercial Property Teams who acted for the Sellers. This included agreeing the acquisition agreement of the assets, negotiating warranties, a disclosure letter and commercial lease.

  There was a very short timescale for the deal to be completed because there was a high demand for animal feed to be delivered to farmers over the winter period and the purchasing company wanted to meet this demand.

  There was a subsequent commercial lease granted by our client of a diesel fuel tank to the same purchaser with detailed warranty provisions concerning the diesel tank.

• Finance Arrangements
  

  Acting for two limited companies in providing a certificate of title to a Lender’s solicitors to fund a building project to build 24 new houses including advising the Lender’s solicitors on the complex planning of the site and arranging four title indemnity policies to cover mines / minerals rights and unknown restrictive covenants and easements.

• Sale of Holiday & Fishery Complex
  

  Sale of a farm with Grade II listed farmhouse with two holiday cottages and fishery comprising three trout lakes and over 50 acres of land.

  It was a difficult sale because retrospective listed planning consent was obtained for one of the holiday lets within the curtilage of the farmhouse.

  Also successfully obtaining possessory title to scrubland areas abutting the river which flowed through the farmland.

• Sale of Development Site
  

  Sales of the remaining three farm buildings with full residential use on a small estate of 13 units (formerly farm buildings) with private facilities: estate road, private water borehole supply and biomass generator supplying heat to these units. Acting for the Seller in the sales including a management company set up with bespoke articles of association to maintain and repair the private facilities and each unit owner entering into a water and power agreement with the Management Company to provide water and heat to the units. Also acting for the Seller in subsequent sales of small strips of land to each unit to amend their boundaries and dealing with Deeds of Variation to substitute new Transfers plans on several properties on the estate due to adjustment of boundaries.

• Purchase of House & Stables
  

  Purchase of house with outbuildings and stables in a rural hamlet which was formerly part of a Manor and had been rebuilt extensively with two major extensions in 2014, a new private borehole water supply, and new septic treatment plant within its curtilage and a new entrance onto the public highway.

  It involved carefully investigating the planning and building regulation history to cover the extensive alterations and the necessary certificates in respect of new septic treatment plant and new borehole supply.

• Sale of Agricultural Land
  

  Sale of a large block of agricultural land, including a small area of land of which there was no title. Acting for the Seller including providing evidence of adverse possession and title indemnity policy to small area of land, imposing covenants to protect the Seller’s neighbouring wind turbine and retained land and dealing with transfer of Basic Payment Entitlements and negotiating a release of the Seller’s mortgage over the land.

• Sale of Development Site
  

  Sale of development site with outline planning consent for four residential open market dwellings. Acting for the Sellers who inherited the site.

  Sale was divided into two transactions which needed to be completed before the Stamp Duty Land Tax holiday expired with ransom strip and adjoining house being retained by the Sellers and a mortgage back arrangement for part of the purchase monies outstanding on completion due to the Sellers.