CHARTERED SURVEYORS YoungsRPS have marked the start of 2018 by opening a new office in Thornhill, Dumfriesshire and taking on new recruit, Mike Halliday, a graduate in agriculture from Aberdeen University.

Mr Halliday, who takes on a role as farm consultant, is a local to the area and is the third generation of his family to farm in Thornhill. For the past three years, he has been working as a consultant with the Scottish Agricultural College, while also working on the family farm.

As a winner of a 2014 Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland Travel Scholarship he visited Australia, and has also spent time working on a dairy unit in New Zealand and carried out a research project on livestock holdings in Belgium. He is working towards full membership with the Scottish Association of Agricultural Valuers, and is a FACTS qualified advisor.

Mr Halliday said he was delighted to be joining YoungsRPS: “The company has a strong reputation for its core rural work and for offering down-to-earth practical advice to farmers and landowners alike. This suits my skill set well, and I look forward to adding my expertise to their existing capabilities and working with the rest of the team who, between them, have great strength and depth of knowledge in rural property disciplines across the board.”

As rural chartered surveyors and property consultants, YoungsRPS will be focusing on the core rural services of farm sales, farm and estate management, landlord and tenant negotiations and farm finance. Heading up the office in Thornhill, director Tom Oates welcomed Mr Halliday on to the team.

“Over recent years at YoungsRPS we have built a significant client base throughout Scotland, including a large following in the Isles," said Mr Oates. "We believe the time is now right to offer these clients an enhanced service by opening a dedicated rural office in Scotland. By bringing in Mike, with his considerable practical knowledge, experience of the tenanted sector, management skills and extensive knowledge of the Scottish environmental and grants system, we can offer a wider range of services to a greater number of clients in Scotland. A Scottish base will also enable us to expand the farm and land sales and purchase side of the business within Scotland.”