News

Strutt & Parker joins forces with John Clegg & Co

Q2 2016

Strutt & Parker today announced that it has made a significant investment by acquiring the equity of John Clegg & Co, the leading firm of woodland and forestry specialists.

John Clegg & Co comprises chartered surveyors, chartered foresters, economists and support staff specialising in the acquisition, sale, management and valuation of forestry and woodland. The partnership was established in 1967 and has grown to become the leading adviser in this field, with an estimated market share of more than half of all forestry sales in the UK.

John Clegg & Co will continue to operate as an independent forestry consultancy and brokerage team within the Strutt & Parker group. The team will be led by Jon Lambert, who will become an equity partner at Strutt & Parker. Fenning Welstead and Patrick Porteous will continue to operate from John Clegg & Co’s Edinburgh office, John Clegg and Mike Tustin from the Haddenham and Monmouth offices and Alastair Lumsden from its Inverness office.

The team has unrivalled experience in assisting rural landowners with their forest and woodland assets. Its clients include institutional and private funds, traditional rural estates, government agencies, companies and private individuals. In the last 10 years they have transacted over 440,000 acres of land.

Strutt & Parker has 23 teams located throughout the UK that offer land management and farming expertise in order to help clients realise the full potential of their land. The tie-in with John Clegg & Co will enhance its roster of rural services and enable its clients to access some of the UK’s leading experts in forestry and woodland.

Andy Martin, senior partner at Strutt & Parker, said: “Joining forces with John Clegg & Co’s experts gives us the perfect platform to develop our rural services provision. We will be able to offer investors in the high performing asset class of forestry a team of specialist brokers and consultants who will unlock the value tied up in their forestry investments. This team shares Strutt & Parker’s values and commitment to delivering the best advice and service for landowners.”

James Farrell, head of consultancy at Strutt & Parker, added: “The resurgence of the forestry industry in the UK, backed by a political will to increase the planted area, has led to a demand for an increasingly technical and specialist level of advice on growing trees, and trading in timber and forestry land. This investment in John Clegg & Co is part of our commitment to transform the experience of owning land in the UK so that clients feel fulfilled, engaged in, and in control of both their let property and their trading businesses.”

Jon Lambert, newly appointed senior partner at John Clegg & Co, said: “Having been trading for close to 50 years, joining Strutt & Parker as their independent forestry arm has been the logical step in the growth of our business. We welcome the opportunity to extend the influence of our specialist team over an even greater area of the UK. We have noticed on many occasions over the years, the cultural similarities between our two firms, we both strive to provide the highest possible quality of service for all of our clients and we are delighted to be joining our two businesses together.”

In 2015 Strutt & Parker undertook a series of acquisitions as part of their plans for continued growth, including residential estate agents Roberts Newby and Edwards & Elliott and planning consultancy AKA Planning.