June 2020 – Coronavirus crisis brings succession planning into focus

The Covid-19 crisis is likely to prompt more conversations about succession than ever before.  Mark Weaver of CLM considers why – and shares some tips on securing your farm or estate’s long term future by making this potentially painful process happen smoothly and effectively.

The coronavirus crisis will result in big changes to rural businesses and has reminded us all, even if only at a subconscious level, of our own mortality.

It’s also prompted a subject to be discussed in some farmhouses and estate offices that has been avoided for years or even decades – succession.

Factor in the dramatic drop in income that many farms and estates were already facing with BPS support due to be phased out between 2021 and 2027, and there’s a preparedness to address the topic with a candour and urgency we’ve not witnessed before.  Even in families where the subject has been systematically swerved, “what if….” conversations have been sparked.

 

Read the full article here……