Spear’s Review

One of the UK’s foremost experts on the buying and selling of estates, Farrer & Co partner Edmund Fetherston-Dilke frequently advises on land and country houses worth upwards of £30 million. He is perhaps best known for his work on the Duchy of Cornwall, the Prince of Wales’ landed estate of 130,000 acres spread across 23 counties. ‘His Royal Highness has a strong sense of mission for what the Duchy of Cornwall ought to be doing when it comes to people, the places that it operates in and its impact on the planet,’ he tells Spear’s.

Regenerative farming has become a major focus for his clients, he reports, citing the ecological benefit to the land and the climate. ‘We’re also doing more renewable energy work,’ he explains. ‘A lot of large landowners are interested in carbon capture schemes like replanting trees, or large solar farms.’

With expertise spanning three decades, he remains humble about his rarefied client book. ‘I wouldn't blow my own trumpet. But I would blow the trumpet of my team, which I do think is the largest and the best in the country.’

Adviser Profile

Edmund’s practice includes agricultural estates work, residential and commercial property. His clients vary from institutional land owners, charities and property companies to individuals and farmers. Edmund was appointed the solicitor to the Duchy of Cornwall in June 2020.

Edmund has significant experience in looking after a variety of landed estates. He is familiar with the panoply of issues that can be encountered including rights of way, forestry issues, agri-environmental schemes and the special regimes applying to agricultural tenants. He advises both on the management of landed estates as well as the sale and purchase.

Edmund also has experience in the sale and purchase of super-prime London residential property.