Scottish law firm Anderson Strathern's rural property practice yesterday predicted a record year following its involvement in more than £300m worth of countryside transactions.
The firm, which has been rated as a market leader in Agriculture and Estate by both Legal 500 and Chambers Guide to the UK Legal Profession for many years, attributed recent growth to the multi-specialist service offered by its Land Resources partners.
Both are accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as specialists in agricultural law.
Robert Carr, chairman of Anderson Strathern, said: "This growth is driven by two of our core skills - property and private client services. Both practices have not been content to rest on their laurels and have been impressive in acquiring new clients whilst retaining their existing portfolios."
The deals completed by Anderson Strathern over the year included the much-publicised sale of Dumfries House. The company provided a core team of four legal advisers who planned the structure of the sale, providing advice on listed buildings regulations, fittings and fixtures, tax, stamp duty, land tax, employment and corporate matters.
Other transactions included the sale and purchase of property, involvement in development options and advice on renewable energy schemes.
John Mitchell, partner, Land Resources, said: "Anderson Strathern offers a unique proposition in rural Scotland in being able to meet the wide range of requirements of rural businesses within one firm.
"We are recognised as one of the foremost agricultural and private client practices with a wide range of rural community clients, but, importantly for our clients, we also have specialist teams in commercial real estate, property development and employment.
"The majority of transactions involve property work, tax planning, employment advice, planning advice and guidance on environmental and agricultural legislation. Rural businesses are often more sophisticated and complex than they appear.
"Many rural entities simply do not have access to this breadth of expertise. We believe this is the reason why we are seeing an increase in both referrals from smaller legal firms in rural areas and rural businesses that are approaching us directly.
"There may be a perception that rural Scotland is not a place where business is being done, or that any work has a narrow focus. This is certainly not our experience. Business is business, no matter where it is done."
Anderson Strathern has 16 accredited specialists and in the last year has added two in construction and one in family law. Its client base includes international and national companies, public bodies, banks, property developers and investors, landowners, educational and further educational institutions.
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