Owning a farm worth £5 million or more is a source of pride. It’s the product of years of work, careful stewardship of land, and family resilience through good and lean times. But it also comes with pressure. Farming families are at the sharp end of two realities: land values keep rising, and tax laws keep shifting. Together, they create a situation where the family’s wealth feels tied up, fragile, and vulnerable to erosion.
The traditional response has always been the same: keep farming, hope reliefs like Agricultural Property Relief (APR) remain intact, and try to hand the land on to the next generation. Yet as governments tighten rules and introduce caps, relying on APR alone now feels like waiting for the rug to be pulled from under your feet.
There is a better way. Moving the farm into a Mural Crown Self-Administered Family Office (SAFO) unlocks options that farmers rarely see. It’s not about giving up control or drowning in legal jargon. It’s about taking the farm, in its current form, and placing it into a structure that protects it, multiplies its options, and makes the family the one writing the rules.
A Farm Reimagined: Two Futures
Picture this.
Future 1
The family runs a £5m farm as a sole trade or partnership. The land is tied to inheritance tax at 40% above whatever APR survives future reforms. Selling even a small portion of land means a big CGT bill, since the tax is measured on the difference between today’s value and what was paid decades ago or inherited. The children, some interested in farming and some not, may inherit land without the skills or desire to run it. The farm may shrink, or worse, be broken up.
Future 2
The same farm is moved, step by step, into a Mural Crown SAFO. The land and business are transferred into an LLP with both parents involved, then into a company, and finally into a bespoke family office structure. Tax law allows the move to be made at each stage without triggering SDLT or CGT.
Now, each parcel of land sits in its own SPV. The family office owns the shares. If part of the farm is sold, the tax bill is minimal because the gain is measured from the date of incorporation, not from purchase decades ago. Proceeds stay in the Mural Crown SAFO, taxed at corporate rates (19–25%) rather than personal rates (up to 45%). Some children join the business, some do not, but the Mural Crown SAFO creates income streams, governance rules, and family agreements that prevent disputes.
Which future feels stronger?
Case Story 1: The Reeves Family
The Reeves own a 600-acre mixed arable and livestock farm in Cambridgeshire, worth just over £7m. Their two eldest children have no interest in farming, while their youngest son is keen to carry on.
In the old model, the parents worried they would have to split the land unevenly or borrow heavily to give the farming child a fair shot. The risk of inheritance tax and sibling disputes loomed large.
By moving into a Mural Crown SAFO, they took a different path:
● They transferred the farm into an LLP, then incorporated it into a company without triggering SDLT or CGT.
● Each block of land was placed into an SPV.
● They kept control through freezer shares but passed economic value into trusts for all three children.
When they later sold 150 acres of less-productive land near the village edge, the tax bill was a fraction of what it would have been outside the Mural Crown SAFO. The proceeds were reinvested into rental properties and solar projects, giving the non-farming children a fair income stream. Meanwhile, their son continued farming the core acreage with complete control.
For the Reeves, the Mural Crown SAFO was not just a tax tool but a way to keep the family united and the farm viable.
Why a Mural Crown SAFO Creates Flexibility
The beauty of a Mural Crown SAFO is not in its technical details. It’s in the choices it opens up. Families don’t have to decide today whether the next generation will farm, sell, or reinvest. They simply put the farm into a structure that makes all three possible without massive tax leakage.
Key benefits include:
● Land protection: Each parcel is ring-fenced in its own SPV, safeguarding it from claims or disputes.
● Tax efficiency: Sales or transfers measured from incorporation values, not historic ones, keeping tax to a minimum.
● Control: Parents retain voting rights while passing economic value into trusts for children or foundations.
● Reliefs unlocked: Corporate structures access deductions and reliefs unavailable to individuals.
● Succession planning: Clear rules about who controls what, preventing fights later.
Turning Farming Into Passive Income
Not every child of a farmer wants to farm. Some are passionate about the land; others build careers elsewhere. The old succession model often created resentment: the children who stayed on the farm felt tied down, while those who left felt cut out.
With a Mural Crown SAFO, the farm can eventually be transformed into a passive investment portfolio:
● The land can be gradually sold or let, with proceeds retained inside the Mural Crown SAFO.
● Investments can be made in trading companies, funds, or local ventures.
● Income streams can be distributed fairly, reflecting family agreements.
The result is that children who do not farm still benefit fairly. Those who want to continue farming can do so without being forced to buy out siblings. The Mural Crown SAFO balances everyone’s interests.
Case Story 2: The Daltons
The Daltons owned a £5.5m dairy farm in Cheshire. Their three daughters had all left home and pursued different careers, and none wanted to return to milking cows.
Instead of selling the farm in one go, the Daltons put it into a Mural Crown SAFO. They slowly restructured:
● The dairy herd was sold, and the land was split into SPVs.
● Some parcels were rented to neighbouring farms, while others were sold tax-efficiently over time.
● The proceeds were reinvested into commercial property and a renewable energy venture.
Within ten years, the Daltons had converted their working farm into a diversified family investment company. The Mural Crown SAFO generated income for the parents in retirement and laid a foundation for their daughters, who could inherit without facing the crushing tax bills that so often dismantle estates.
The Daltons didn’t see their decision as giving up farming. They saw it as giving their family freedom.
Accessing Reliefs Farmers Rarely Use
One of the least discussed advantages of a Mural Crown SAFO is the access it gives to corporate tax reliefs. While most farmers know about APR, very few realise that when their farm sits inside a corporate group, new reliefs become available:
● R&D tax credits for innovations in crop, soil, or machinery use
● Capital allowances on equipment and infrastructure
● Group reliefs allow profits and losses to be offset more flexibly
● Substantial Shareholding Exemption when trading subsidiaries are sold after 12 months of ownership
These tools are usually associated with large corporations. Yet, through a Mural Crown SAFO, farming families can access them just as effectively.
Building an Institution, Not Just a Farm
The deeper purpose of a Mural Crown SAFO is to turn the farm into something bigger: a family institution. It’s not about money alone. It’s about creating rules, protections, and governance that unite the family while giving each generation freedom to choose their roles.
That might mean:
● A Farmers’ Foundation, holding shares for the benefit of future generations and employees.
● Family councils or trustee boards that guide long-term decisions.
● A structure where farming is respected as a calling, but where those who don’t farm still share in the family’s prosperity.
This institutional thinking separates families that thrive for centuries from those who sell up within a generation.
The Roadmap: Step by Step
No family needs to do everything at once. The typical roadmap looks like this:
Transfer farm and business into an LLP with spouse/partner no SDLT or CGT.
Operate for 2–3 years to establish it as a genuine trading entity.
Incorporate into a Ltd still no SDLT or CGT.
Move Ltd into a Mural Crown SAFO in exchange for freezer shares.
Gift shares into a Farmers’ Foundation or trusts for succession.
Split land and buildings into SPVs for protection and flexibility.
Each stage is manageable. Each unlocks more opportunities.
A £5m+ farm outside a Mural Crown SAFO is vulnerable: to tax reform, family disputes, and the heavy hand of inheritance. The same farm becomes resilient inside a Mural Crown SAFO: flexible, tax-efficient, and future-ready.
It is not about abandoning farming. It is about creating choice. Farming families can continue to farm, sell, reinvest, or transition into passive wealth without losing the legacy of what they built.
The question is no longer whether to act. It is how long a family can afford to wait before putting the farm inside a structure that protects it in every way.
