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For over 38 years, Hugh Townsend has been the country's "go-to" commentator on farm quotas and intangible assets sold off-farm. Having become the country's leading and most innovative quota agent he was broadcast to 3.8 million listeners on Radio 4's PM programme, interviewed by Eddie Mayer on the 1st April 2015 – the “Dawning of Europe without Milk Quotas”, click here.In 2016, BBC1 interviewed Hugh Townsend on the future of farming following the Referendum, click here. In 2021 he published the first book of its type “the UK Environmental Credits User Guide” , and more recently in 2024 ITV filmed at one of our BNG Habitat Banks which was broadcast on Monday 3rd June (click here) To view the uncut footage of the interview click here
Hugh Townsend developed the most creative arrangements to promote an efficient market in farm quotas, in the early eighties, including leasing milk quota without land, before the Milk Marketing Board introduced leasing for a part of the milk year. He has represented clients in leading court and arbitration cases successfully defending transfers of milk quota, and developed the new system of second TQ1 forms protecting the transfer of quotas with land.
In 1991, Farmers Weekly published the first sale price index from Hugh Townsend, countrywide, and started to publish farm quota sales and leasing graphs, which can be seen on our Milk Quota & Entitlements pages. Prices for intangible assets are still published weekly from this UK leading Brokerage House.
On BBC television, he has defended dairy farmers who have been taken advantage of by unscrupulous individuals in the farm quota market, and was again on television to comment on the "footballers buy milk quota" rumpus.
In 1990, the firm held the first auction of sheep and beef quota making the market in these new intangible assets and is still the leading BPS entitlement broker in the UK regions following England abolishing their scheme in 2023.
The firm also now sells Biodiversity Net Gain and Nutrient Neutrality units, Woodland and Peatland Carbon, in addition to Water Abstraction Licenses, and holds National Sales by tender every six weeks.
UK BPS Entitlement Trading Update – 6.2.2018
ENGLAND As we move into February, with just over three months left before the 2018 BPS claim deadline and following the RPA online system now showing maps and allowing entitlement transfer applications, entitlement trading is starting to warm up as landowners/farmers start to add up their eligible areas, and calculate what surplus/shortfall in entitlements they…
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Western Morning News – 17.01.2018 – Telecoms – New Digital Economy Act
The Digital Economy Act came into force from the 28th December 2017 and although the Act deals with a wide and varying number of differing matters, the main point of interest to most landowners and land agents is its effect on new telecom mast leases. Existing telecommunication agreements are not affected by the amendments, however…
Read More Western Morning News – 10.01.18 – Commons Update
Following the successful legal challenge on the way Minchinhampton and Rodborough Commons claim payments were handled by the RPA, commons claimants can and have submitted claims to the RPA for an allocation of extra entitlements and retrospective top-up payments for these entitlements. This affects all common land claimants in England, except (currently) for those in…
Read More2018 NEW YEAR NEWSLETTER
To download or view your copy of the 2018 New Year Newsletter with live links, click here
Read More Western Morning News – 29.11.17 – Brownfield Land Registers
On the 16th April 2017 the Government brought into force the Town & Country Planning (Brownfield Land Register) regulations 2017. Regulation 3 of the Act requires Local Planning Authorities (LPA) to maintain and publish registers of brownfield land by the end of 2017. The register will enable LPA’s to grant Permission in Principle for residential…
Read More Western Morning News – 15.11.17 – Letting out agricultural buildings for commercial use
An increasing number of farming businesses are now renting out disused agricultural buildings on commercial leases to non-farming businesses. For many farming businesses this can be a useful source of additional income, however there are a number of factors to be considered before entering into any form of agreement with a non-agricultural party. The…
Read More Western Morning News – 01.11.17 – Crown case shows lessons to learn for farm tenants
Judgement in the case of The Crown Estate Commissioners v Wakley and Wakley found the Crown to be in breach of a Farm Business Tenancy and having misrepresented the condition of the farm to the incoming tenant. The Tenant was awarded £1.75 million in damages. The case Mr and Mrs Wakley moved their business and…
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Farmers Weekly comment – 03.11.17 – Early BPS entitlement deals struck
To download/view the Farmers Weekly comment click here
Read More Western Morning News – 11.10.17 – Early trading signals boost of confidence for agriculture
All businesses in the UK are having to get used to the uncertainty of Brexit, not only because we do not know what our relationship will be with Europe in the near future but also in trade terms with the rest of the world (see our article in the WMN Farming section on 27.9.2017 here)….
Read MoreAUTUMN NEWSLETTER 2017
To download or view your copy of the Autumn Newsletter 2017 with live links, click here
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