The priority is usually to keep the farm intact. Post-Brexit, however, farms face an uncertain future not least because EU Common Agricultural Policy support has ceased and a seven-year transition scheme is now underway to bring in a scheme, not yet clarified, under the Agriculture Act 2020.
The changes could be dramatic, and possibly devastating for family businesses. This makes valuation problematic, for ‘figures from previous years may not reflect performance in the near future’, Porter writes.