Colin Tomlinson, managing director at H&H Land and Property, talks to farming and rural affairs editor Maureen Hodges about the way forward for the company and the farming industry as a whole

Are there any plans for expansion of the land and property side of the business?

A First and foremost is to build on the platform that we have, based in Carlisle, St Boswells in the Borders, Durham in the north east and Kendal in the south Lakes. We are looking at consolidation and expansion in all corners. 
We have had two recent roadshows, one at Kirkby Stephen, supported by the Town Auction Mart. We talked about grants and availability of funding, and had a presentations from H&H Insurance brokers and a finance speaker. There were about 90 attendees. We had a subsequent one near Broughton-in-Furness focused on the Broughton Auction Mart, which had about 60 attendees. 
Both were well received and have led to new introductions to promote the name of H&H Land and Property. 
If we have opportunities we will expand within our geographical area.

Are you going to continue with the roadshows?

We have one arranged in Carlisle in April. We have a well-qualified team of chartered surveyors, graduates and assistant surveyors. We can call upon the Carlisle office for expertise on the environmental side, the stewardship scheme and the forestry side. We are striving to expand the environmental department.

How are your staff gearing up for the changes?

We attend workshops and seminars, and there is a continual stream of emails coming through from professional organisations. There has not been a great deal of change in the industry in the last three years, so there is nothing fresh to announce at present. 
It is focusing on how to go forward with the reductions to the Basic Payment Scheme and grants. Farmers have accepted there will be a reduction in the payment scheme, and at the roadshows we have put out some information as to what these are likely to be. In line with that, farmers will have to look at other ways of creating  income. 
Recent cut-backs in expenditure by service industries, for example, the Highways Agency, local authorities, water and gas providers, has meant less work for our compensation department. Once all the dust has settled over what is happening at the moment some of these schemes will be resurrected.

Looking at farmland and farmhouses, is demand still continuing to outstrip supply?

There are always going to be farms for sale, but my recent experiences throughout the county, particularly in the south where I am primarily based, is that  farmers and landowners are nervous about the market in 2019. They understand prices have been high and have deferred the decision to establish the outcome from the EU negotiations. 
I believe there will be a slight reduction in land prices, but it will take between 18 and 24 months to settle down to find the level. 
There will always be farmers who want to buy the field next door for accommodation land. They cannot stop themselves and this drives prices up. We are getting interest from outside investors for inheritance tax purposes.

Other than Brexit, are there  other anxieties being displayed when it comes to farming businesses looking to increase their operations?

Anxiety is always driven by stock prices. Beef and sheep prices have not been good over the past 12 months, but farmers are rolling their sleeves up and getting on with it. 
They accept  things are going to change, but they are adaptable. 
I do believe it will sort itself out and we will be back to where we were.

How are land prices holding up? There has been some talk about land values dropping.

I foresee a slight change. I am not going to say how much, but there will be a small reaction. 
If the market is not flooded and there are only a few farms coming on, they will sell because the banks and the other money lenders are still ready to finance. There is an opportunity to restructure and refinance because banks are very supportive, particularly with the lending rate being as reasonable as it is at the moment.  I cannot see any immediate signs of that being increased.  Apart from looking at grants and subsidies available, they are looking at their existing businesses to be more efficient before buying more land.