Scots property firm in merger with English business

Leading independent rural property consultancy Galbraith and specialised rural estate management company Land Factor today announced the two firms are to merge.

Galbraith is a long-established company with particular expertise in the rural estate market, acting for clients in Scotland, the UK and internationally. Land Factor provides land management services from its offices in Northumberland and Cumbria.

The merger, which will take effect on April 1, 2019, will see Land Factor becoming a fully integrated part of Galbraith. Land Factor personnel will continue to serve the needs of existing clients as part of the Galbraith team.

Iain Russell, chairman of Galbraith, said: ‘We are delighted to be merging with such an established and successful firm as Land Factor. Both firms currently operate across the border and joining forces will enable us to provide enhanced rural services across a wider geographic area.

‘Land Factor has been particularly strong in both estate management and forestry and our combined skills should deliver greater benefit to clients.’

Tom Warde-Aldam, director of Land Factor, said: ‘We have taken great pride in building a successful firm offering specialist estate and land management services and becoming part of Galbraith will enable us to not only continue providing these services but to explore new opportunities.

‘Both ourselves and Galbraith have for many years been committed to an ethos of being independent companies providing the highest quality of personal service. These shared values, plus having greater strength and depth, will serve the interests of clients.’

Galbraith and Land Factor believe there are many challenges and opportunities in the rural sector with inevitable changes in farm subsidy regimes and ever-increasing regulation and compliance requirements impacting across the rural sector.

Athole McKillop, one of the founding directors of Land Factor, and current chair of Confor, notes that there are opportunities to capitalise on the strong performance of the forestry sector, with new planting reaching levels not seen for decades and strong timber prices encouraging more active forestry management across all types of woodland asset.