Alastair trained and qualified in 1987 with Macfarlanes in London. He joined Burges Salmon in 1997 as a partner. He has sat on the committee of the Agricultural Law Association and on the Legal and Parliamentary Sub-Committee of the Country Land and Business Association.
Alastair's work relates almost exclusively to Agricultural Property, acting for institutional investors, rural landowners in the purchase sale lease mortgage and occupation of rural property, whether agricultural, commercial or residential. Much of his time is spent on large estate sales and purchases and recent work has included:
- Acquiring for The Crown Estate the Tabley Estate in Cheshire for over £30 million, including an assessment of over 100 agricultural, residential, commercial and sporting leases
- Advising on the partial demerger of a family farming company in the south of England and on clawback issues relating to more than 2,000 acres of land
- Selling about 4,000 acres of land in the east of England for over £30 million, including extensive advice on development clawback
- Sale of significant estate in South of England for over £15m subject to agricultural tenancy in favour of a third party company.