Simon Mountjoy FIAgrM
I have nearly forty years’ experience in Farm Business Consultancy in the East Midlands including arable crops, vegetables, roots and livestock with overseas experience in Poland and Australia. In the UK, I have an extensive portfolio of farm business clients and I have also managed significant contracts for DEFRA, EMDA and Business Link.
I can assist you with issues that may range from the development of business strategy through to issues of succession planning and dispute resolution. My instructions range from one-off consultations through to director; I work for families, corporate businesses and estates of all sizes and with all enterprises throughout the East Midlands.
I have a reputation for pro-active, no nonsense business advice and if I can assist you and your business, then I would be pleased to hear from you.
For the record, I graduated in Agriculture in 1983 followed by a postgraduate management diploma in 1984. After three years with Sentry Farming and six years with William H Brown, I was a founding partner of Brown & Co in 1993 and I formed Mountjoy Rural in 2014.
I am also a Trustee/Director of the Addington Fund, an organisation providing support for retired farmers or tenants with housing needs, along with an embryonic New Entrant Scheme for ambitious new talent in UK agriculture.
Succession Planning
In my view this is the most important and possibly the single biggest issue facing the industry. For all businesses, (sole traders, partnerships and incorporated entities), succession planning may not appear urgent and, as it may be complicated, it is too easily put on the ‘back burner’. But it is not just tax planning that is required for the significant capital values of land and property, it is also necessary to plan and understand who will be running the business in the future. Each farm may be supporting several generations; there is no longer a job for everyone and, indeed, not everyone wants a job. The capital intensive nature of our industry makes an equitable distribution of assets something of an art rather than a science and a matter that we need to address, including some testing discussions, now APR/BPR cannot be taken as a ‘given’.
If you have concerns for the future structure of your business or for your inheritants, I can help with advice and guidance to promote a discussion and engender a better understanding of hurdles and outcomes for all parties.
As an impartial third party, I can ask the difficult family questions and broach the sensitive family issues necessary to ensure a smooth transition.
I have helped to steer many businesses through the sensitive subjects of succession and family demergers, also divorce and insolvency/administration. If I can help you with such matters, please call.
Contact
Mountjoy Rural, New England Farmhouse, Wellingore Heath, Lincolnshire, LN5 0DA.
Email: simon@mountjoyrural.com or Mobile: 07768 465727 or via: