Spear’s Review

Withers’ Matthew Woods, a long-time partner in the firm’s private client and tax team, advises a wide range of clients on how to hold and retain family assets and businesses – including farms and landed estates – and then effectively transfer them to future generations.

‘The success of an estate in securing planning in a historic park has been particularly gratifying,’ he says. Woods further noted that ‘disappointed beneficiaries’ are the biggest potential pitfall for an estate, and so he seeks to avert this by keeping the lines of communication within families clear. 

Woods, a judge at the 2025 Spear’s Awards, is also a lawyer whose clients are able to embrace change: one ‘has installed a district biomass system, the biggest of its kind for historic properties’, and is actively seeking off-estate investment to create a more diverse business.