Strutt & Parker announces changes to its Estates & Farm Agency leadership team, promoting Sam Holt to Head of Estates & Farm Agency and Will Whittaker to the role of Head of National Estates & Farm Agency. The pair will be responsible for continuing to grow Strutt & Parker’s successful farm agency business.

Completing a trio of promotions, Juliette Burt is also appointed as head of the Cotswolds and West Midlands region for the Estates & Farm Agency Department.

Sam has worked for Strutt & Parker for 13 years and has been head of the Eastern Region of the farm agency department since 2021. He is highly regarded within the industry having an extensive network and considerable experience in acting on behalf of, and working with, private clients, charities and institutions. In 2023, he personally advised on over 12,000 acres of farmland transactions. As Head of the Estates & Farm Agency Department he oversees a team of around 18 specialist farm agents based across the UK.

Will Whittaker has also worked for Strutt & Parker for more than a decade and as a member of the National Estates & Farm Agency team, which is based in London, has been responsible for the sale and purchase of many significant farms and estates across England and Wales. The National team has a UK-wide view of the land market and specialises in transactions of high-value, high-acreage properties, leveraging strong connections to domestic and international buyers. Will continues to work alongside Mark McAndrew - recently named on the Spear's 500 list as one of the best country property specialists - who has previously led the National team.

Guy Robinson, head of residential agency at Strutt & Parker, comments: “The appointment of both Sam and Will to senior leadership roles in our farm agency business underscores our commitment to nurturing talent within our teams. They are both highly experienced farm agents with a proven track record of leading teams and delivering exceptional advice and service to clients.

“We see great opportunities in the market for farmland, which remains amazingly resilient, despite some economic headwinds. The agricultural industry has had a challenging year because of extreme weather, but average prices for farmland are at record levels and there are still plenty of buyers who want to buy land for a wide range of reasons.”

Strutt & Parker’s team of dedicated farm agents is one of the largest and most successful in the country. Located across the UK, they offer clients a combination of detailed local knowledge, national perspective and extensive global connections. Juliette Burt, who is now head of the Cotswolds and West Midlands region, joined Strutt & Parker's Estates & Farm Agency team eight years ago. Working from both the Oxford and Cirencester offices, she has quickly built up an impressive track record of transactions in a competitive market. Prior to that, she worked as a rural surveyor in Gloucestershire. Juliette will be dividing her time between the offices in Oxford, Moreton-in-Marsh, Cirencester and Banbury, allowing the team to further strengthen its presence across the region.

The Estates & Farm Agency team is supported by other departments within Strutt & Parker, including its Research team, which produces market-leading analysis of trends in the agricultural land market based on one of the most comprehensive datasets available.