Mayo Wynne Baxter has joined forces with planning, design and development consultancy Marrons to expand its service offering to winery and vineyard clients – a growing sector for the Sussex and Kent-based law firm.

Home to more than 190 vineyards, Sussex and Kent make up more than half of all English land under vine. Sussex wine has also been granted geographically protected status – in the same way as Champagne and Prosecco – with the sector contributing more than £25m to Sussex’s tourism economy alone.

James O’Connell, corporate partner at Mayo Wynne Baxter, who heads up the wine and vineyards team, said: “Grape growing is an appealing alternative crop for farmers looking to diversify the use of their land.

“And with an increasingly warmer, dryer climate in the region, Sussex and Kent grape growers are recording great harvests at a time when English wine continues to grow in both popularity and quality – attracting funding from both domestic investors and international wine producers.

“But the industry does face a number of issues, particularly in the planning arena, which is why we wanted to join forces with Marrons to offer vineyard and winery clients an A-Z service.”

Mayo Wynne Baxter has been actively supporting a number of large wine producers in the region with direct business advice on corporate, contract and employment matters, as well as land and property-related issues – such as buying and selling vineyards, the construction of restaurants and the presence of phone masts, and landowner obligations for semi-private roads.

The firm also assists with connected personal needs such as divorce and family matters, estate planning for succession, and personal wealth arrangements.

James added: “Owners of vineyards and wineries consistently list planning as a hurdle to development of their businesses. Marrons will add essential planning advice to the joint proposition drawing on extensive experience of maximising development opportunities for landowners and rural businesses.”

Josh Mellor, planning director at Marrons, said: “We are delighted to be teaming up with Mayo Wynne Baxter in this sector. Their legal expertise in the industry is second to none and our council connections and local knowledge of Sussex, Kent and Surrey means we can help new and established players consider their best options for growth, sale, development or expansion.”

Mayo Wynne Baxter and Marrons are both part of legal and professional services group Ampa Group.