Food & Farming
This area is led by partners William Neville and Philip Davey together with Alan Barr, Chris Godfrey and Camilla Usher-Clark.
Examples of our work include:
- English Farming and Food Partnerships – an organisation originating from a recommendation from the Curry Commission on the future of farming and food working to strengthen the profitability, competitiveness and sustainability of England's farming, food and related rural industries:
- advising EFFP on its formation and constitutional issues
- regularly involved in EFFP's training programme for directors of FCBs
- involved as a specialist adviser on EFFP's DEFRA sponsored project carried out in 2005 aimed to identify legislative and fiscal barriers to greater collaboration for farmer controlled businesses
- Milk Link – one of the three leading milk co-operatives in the UK and a leading integrated dairy business
- advised Milk Link since its inception
- in 2001 advised on the re-structure of Milk Link's constitution to form one of the first European style co-operatives in England
- advised on all Milk Link's subsequent acquisitions and joint ventures
- Centaur Grain – the largest committed farmer owned grain marketing organisation in the country:
- advised on the merger of Group Cereal Services and Lingrain to form Centaur Grain using a Section 110 Companies Act members voluntary winding up scheme
- acted on the acquisition by Centaur of Aylsham Grain, again using a Section 110 scheme
- advised on the restructuring of the Centaur Grain Group including advising on High Court sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Section 425 of the Companies Act including a reduction of share capital, registering a new industrial and provident society, a sale of assets and revision of existing bank facilities
- Countrywide Farmers – a leading farming, equestrian and rural supplies business:
- acted on the merger of Midland Shires Farmers Limited and WMF Limited on the formulation of Countrywide Farmers Holdings Plc, a deal which involved a conversion of Midland Shires farmers from an industrial and provident society into a company followed by a court approved share reduction and Section 425 scheme of arrangement to form the merged entity