News - Townsend Chartered Surveyors

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.

Farmers Weekly – 01.04.16 – Entitlements – COMMENT

Townsend Chartered Surveyors comment click here

Western Morning News – 30.03.2016 – Online entitlement transfers

The good news is that, when the online transfer system works, it will enable agents to identify issues with vendors before a sale proceeds and reduce complications that have to be sorted out after the deadline, avoiding vendors making mistakes and contractually having to pay compensation to purchasers for lost BPS claims. The bad news…

Farmers Weekly – 11.03.2016 – Common land farmers face challenge on 2016 BPS process

To view/download Townsend Chartered Surveyors comment click here

Western Morning News – 09.03.2016 – BPS 2016 – Opportunities for commoners

The RPA has published today guidance for Common Land and Shared Grazing – click here Commons claims for BPS5 are yet again after last year’s fiasco going to cause similar problems this year. However what is becoming apparent is that there are some interesting opportunities for anyone with commons rights whether they have claimed before…

Western Morning News – 24.02.2016 – Entitlements 2016 trading update

English Non-SDA The market started last August at £190 per hectare but rapidly rose through October and the beginning of November to £250 per hectare. Buyers at this time felt there would be a lack of supply as entitlements that were unused in 2015 were confiscated in the first year of the Basic Payment Scheme….

Farmers Guardian – 29.01.16 – Was last year a blip for farmgate prices?

The clement climate and lack of natural disasters worldwide in 2015 has left us with an oversupplied global market in grain, with wheat prices now at £100 a tonne. Thankfully the UK also had a good harvest but the immediate outlook is pretty chilly; however the medium to long term demand for food worldwide is…

Western Morning News – 27.01.16 – Farming can recover from bad year

Western Morning News – 13.01.2016 – Care must be taken with agricultural property relief

Mr Osborne’s budget in the summer of 2015 implemented a staged increase in the Inheritance Tax (IHT) threshold from £325,000 to £500,000 between 2017 and 2021 via the ‘family home allowance’. This can then be doubled for married couples and civil partners. This is all very well, but what about additional agricultural assets on and…

Farm Facts 2016

The 2016 edition of our handy pocket sized Farm Facts leaflet is now available. If you would like a free hard copy of the leaflet to be posted to you, please telephone us on 01392 823935 or email us at office@townsendcharteredsurveyors.co.uk with your postal details. Alternatively, if you would like to view or download Farm Facts 2016, please…

Western Morning News – 09.12.2015 – Lifting AOCs

With agricultural prices depressed again farmers are looking for means of diversification or other ways to raise additional working capital. One to consider is the lifting of an agricultural occupancy condition (AOC) applying to a farmhouse or cottage. The value of a dwelling with an AOC can in the worst case scenario be depressed by…