How to plan for the future of the family farm

As is the case for many across the country, succession planning has come into sharp focus for Hannah Connors’ family since the proposed inheritance tax changes announced in the 2024 budget.

The family has been farming in Nottinghamshire since the 1980s; the farm was established by Hannah’s grandfather, Dr Tom Connors, a GP and legend of the Leicestershire hunting community who came from Irish farming stock, alongside her father, Nick, who still runs the farm today. The business has expanded, and today the family farms 1,200 acres, milking around 500 cows. Nick and his wife, H, are still hands-on with the farm, with Nick milking and H feeding calves during the busy calving period.

While Hannah is the eldest of three children, all were encouraged to forge their own careers before deciding on their future involvement with the farm.

“Although it’s not a farm that has been in our hands for generations, farming is in our blood on both sides of the family, as Mum’s parents were also dairy farmers,” says Hannah. “We had a lovely childhood growing up on the farm, yet Mum and Dad were really clear that they wanted us all to go off and do our own thing and make careers for ourselves. They weren’t expecting any one of us to leave school at 16 and stay on the farm. Dad knew how tough it was, and he didn’t want us to be taking over unless it was in good shape.

“The number of family members involved in the ownership and management of a business, the extent of that involvement and, of course, the nature of the business itself will vary widely. In our family, there was probably always an unspoken understanding that one day Patrick would come back and run the farm. Although Patrick currently works in London in insurance, he is very much intending on doing this, and this plan has quite organically solidified in the last four or five years.”

“Like lots of people across the country, conversations about succession have become more definite as a result of last October’s budget. From our perspective, the driving force behind our plans is to make sure the farm can successfully pass to the next generation.”

In terms of successfully navigating succession, Hannah believes it is helpful to think of the people in a family business as a sports team, with players working together.

“Mum and Dad have created a thriving farm, and they want to see it passed on,” she says.

“It is a wider family decision, as you’re looking at succession planning in terms of management of the farming business, as well as how the assets are going to pass, and how we mitigate against inheritance tax within that framework. For us, it is clear we all want the business to carry on, but other people will need to have frank conversations.

“I think it is brilliant that Patrick, alongside his wife, Al, is keen to come back and take over. We needed to work together to see how best to do that with all of us involved. Thinking of the family as a rugby team, there are people with different strengths, but we are unified by a common goal; we want this to be a successful business that continues and we’re all pulling towards that.

“It has been a process, but we are talking much more openly now. We can see the merit of a family charter and the next step is to work together to create that to ensure we are all striving towards it whatever our role.”

For those who starting their succession planning journey, Hannah’s advice is to embrace the sense of belonging and attachment felt by family members.

“Something that really resonated with me when discussing this topic at the CLA Next Generation Conference is that so many of us think about and refer to the family farm as ‘our farm’, regardless of the exact legal ownership.

“There is a sense of belonging and being rooted to a place – a sense of home. For me, the farm has always been home. I think it’s really important to make sure you can create an environment where the siblings who aren’t taking on the business still feel welcome and can call it ‘our farm’. I may not be front and centre of our farm - that is currently Dad’s position and will, in time, become Patrick’s - but being a farmer’s daughter is absolutely central to who I am.”

Hannah feels that, having had her own succession conversations, she can better understand her clients’ situations in her role advising on tax planning, asset protection, succession and estate planning in Browne Jacobson’s private client team.

“I can understand people’s anger about budget changes,” she says. “Quite a lot of them have taken advice and thought they had done what they needed to do to hand their life’s work on to the next generation. “It builds a connection when clients realise you are in the same boat and dealing with the same challenges on a personal level.

“Last year’s budget has really helped shape what I want to do with my career and the clients I want to work with - there is a real sense of purpose in striving to help as many farming families as possible to ensure their businesses thrive for the next generation.”