Trebartha is an estate managed as a trust for the family. The formal structure is a limited company:

Trebartha Estates Limited

The current members of the Board of Directors of Trebartha Estates Ltd (TEL) are:

Jolyon Barker - Lead Director on Strategy

Caroline Latham - Lead Director on Gardens

Claire Latham - Lead Director on Lower Mill Cottage

Robert Latham - Chair

Patrick Latham - Lead Director on Forestry; Chair of Trebartha Hydro Ltd (THL)

Andrew Robson - Lead Director on Agricultural Land Management, and Health and Safety

Richard Latham - Lead Director on sports, recreation and external affairs; also Company Secretary

The registered number of the company is 00363312 (England and Wales).

The Accountants are Hodgsons, 48 Arwenack Street, Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 3JH.  (Previously at 12 Southgate Street, Launceston PL15 9DP).

The Managing Agents are Savills Ltd. The lead manager for Trebartha is Michael Greet (mgreet@savills.com, direct line 01872 243255). The Chair has monthly management meetings with Michael Greet; minutes are sent to all Board members.

Advisers to the Board

The Board’s Forestry Adviser is Robert O’Bryen MA (Cantab); NDF; FICFor.

The Board’s Health and Safety Adviser is John Isaac.

Shareholders and their families

A pdf of the family tree, which shows current shareholders, can be seen HERE.

Staff

Trebartha Estates has two permanent staff members, our Head Gardener, Ian Sherriff (started on 9 November 2020) and Gardener Jack Innes (started as Apprentice April 2019; permanent appointment from 1 April 2021, following completion of Apprenticeship).  Additional help (an average of a day a week) is provided by Dave Trevena, who lives in Trebartha village.

Ian had worked at Paignton Zoological and Botanical Gardens since 2018;  previously he was Head Gardener at Thurlestone Hotel, South Devon, leading a team of three developing and maintaining the gardens in a family owned business.

Information about the Head Gardener post from when it was advertised, including the job description, can be seen here.

Sharing information with shareholders and the family

Statutory and supplementary reports are submitted to the AGM, which takes place in Autumn every year and is in normal years followed by a meal - but Covid-19 has made the 2020 AGM a Zoom event.  All shareholders and other family members are invited to join the AGM. The agenda papers have been posted to all shareholders.

For ease of reference, the main documents for 2021 and recent years can also be accessed HERE.

You can see Robert’s 2020 introductory powerpoint presentation, with lots of photos, on Chairman’s Report..

Shareholders and other family members who are at Trebartha over the August bank holiday are usually also invited to meet Savills staff over lunch at Lemarne on the Tuesday immediately after the Bank Holiday Monday..

Much more information is shared in Trebartha Newsletters. Autumn Newsletters always include a report to the forthcoming Trebartha Estates Ltd AGM. All Trebartha Newsletters can be accessed  using this link:  Newsletters.

Newsletter 17 (October 2018) included the following position statement and Governing Principles for Trebartha:

Position statement and Governing Principles for Trebartha

Introduction 

1. Trebartha extends to some 4,100 acres, including some 3,120 acres of agricultural land, 460 of common land, and 510 acres of forestry/amenity areas. There are 13 farms (three of which are small holdings) and 30 residential properties. Family members own an additional 10 properties. The Estate is valued at £23.5m. TEL’s current income is £515k. 

2. Trebartha Estates Limited (“TEL”) provides an efficient vehicle for the Latham family to own and enjoy Trebartha. The Articles of Association (1997) restrict shareholders to direct descendants (including a child by adoption) of Edward Locks-Latham (1865-1951) and James Latham (1905-1966). This precludes spouses and partners from holding shares. No shareholder may hold more than 10% of the shares. 

The Shareholders 

3. There are 40,000 £1 shares. When TEL was established in 1940, there were eight family shareholders*: Edward Locks-Latham; Emily Latham (both 1st generation); Bryan Latham; Russell Latham; Doris Latham; Douglas Latham; Helen Barker and James Francis Latham (all 2nd generation). There are currently 58 shareholders spread over three further generations: 3rd generation: 11; 4th generation: 19; and 5th generation: 28. The number is likely to exceed 100 within the next 25 years. 

*On 31 December 1940, shares were allocated to: Edward Locks-Latham (6,000); Emily Latham (1,000); Bryan Latham (5,000); Russell Latham (5,000); Doris Latham (4,000); Douglas Latham (5,000); Helen Barker (1,000); James Francis Latham £3,000; James Latham Ltd (5,000); Nigerian Harwood Company (5,000). 

4. The number of shares currently held by individual shareholders varies from 100 up to 3,671. Some branches of the family have properties at Trebartha; others do not. Some shareholders regularly visit Trebartha; others do not. Some shareholders have the resources to invest in properties at Trebartha; others do not. A cottage such as Lower Mill is an essential asset for shareholders who do not own properties at Trebartha. 

5. As the shareholdings become increasingly disparate, it is the more important that the family share a vision for the objectives of TEL and respect for the structures whereby it is governed and managed. 

The Board of Directors 

6. The Directors govern TEL on behalf of the shareholders, having regard to the interests of the wider family, our tenants and the local community. Directors are initially appointed by the Board, but are then elected at the subsequent AGM. There are currently seven directors. Two directors retire each year by rotation, but are eligible for re-election. Directors are given specific roles. It is considered desirable that at least one director should reside at Trebartha. The Articles of Association specify a retirement age of 70 for directors and 75 for the Chair. 7 

There is no restriction as to who can be a member of the Board, but the current policy is to restrict this to family members. 

TEL’s Objectives 

7. After a Strategic Review in 1999, shareholders agreed the following: 

(i) Vision: a self-supporting haven that the family can be proud to pass on, improved, to future generations; 

(ii) Mission: TEL aims to manage the farms, residential accommodation, forestry and amenities at Trebartha in a financially prudent manner for the benefit for shareholders, and with due regard to the interests of tenants and employees, developing the estate in a manner consistent with its character and tradition. 

(iii) Core Values: stewardship; community; calm; respect and trust. 

8. Whilst TEL should be operated on a commercial basis, the dividend is not the primary concern of the shareholders. TEL should rather invest in the Estate for future generations. However, TEL maintains a modest dividend, having regard to the fact that not all shareholders use the facilities at Trebartha. It also recognises that Trebartha is a commercial business. 

9. The viability of the farms at Trebartha is central to its character. TEL should support our farmers and assist them to adapt to the new subsidy regime that will be introduced post-Brexit. “Public Benefit” is likely to be an important element of any new regime. The land should be farmed in a sustainable manner. An organic farm at the core of the Estate encourages a wide diversity of wildlife. 

10. The Board keeps the TEL’s strategic direction under review, seeking to ensure that the younger generation of shareholders are fully involved in the process. 

The Gardens and Amenity Areas 

11. Trebartha has been described as one of the finest landscape gardens in Cornwall. The gardens extend to some 40 acres. A Gardens Group provides the Gardens Director and the Head Gardener with guidance on the strategic development of the gardens. 

12. Shareholders have confirmed that the Trebartha should remain a private garden which is not generally open to the public. The family values its privacy and the tranquillity of Trebartha. Over past decades, a few local residents have been granted rights to access to the gardens. The current approach is to arrange special days for visits by tenants and the local community. 

13. There are normally three Open Days a year, two of which are for the National Gardens Scheme. TEL welcomes visit by special interest groups. The laundry area is an important facility for such visits. Family members are encouraged to assist with Open Days.

14. As the number of shareholders who enjoy the amenities at Trebartha increases, expectations are raised as the quality of the gardens and the recreational facilities. TEL employs a Head Gardener and an assistant. It may employ an apprentice. The Gardens Budget (currently £113k) includes expenditure on recreational facilities and hard landscaping (paths, water, walls, estate railing and fencing). 

15. There is a limit to what TEL can spend on the gardens and family amenities from its own resources. The Board have agreed 20% of TEL’s income as an indicate figure for the family’s amenity benefits and dividend. The current Garden’s Budget is at the upper end of what TEL can afford. An amenity charge collects a modest sum from shareholders. Shareholders are encouraged to supplement the resources available for the gardens and recreational facilities by waiving their dividends and/or contributing to the Gardens Appeal. 

Forestry 

16. TEL has 510 acres of forestry of which: (i) 284 acres are in hand: (ii) 160 acres are leased to Forestry Commission (DEFRA) and (iii) 64 acres are leased to members of the family (Dawes Wood to Paul Latham; Upton Wood to Peter Latham). Of the 284 acres which are in hand, some 27 acres are treated as amenity areas which are under the management of the Gardening Team. 

17. TEL’s forestry is managed on commercial grounds, albeit that it recognised that in the short term, it will not generate a profit. The forestry is currently expected to operate within a budget of £16k. There is scope for creating woodland walks for the family through some of the woodland areas. There may also be a case for extending the land allocated to forestry. 

Trebartha Hydro Ltd (“THL”) 

18. THL is an important commercial venture to safeguard the long-term financial viability of TEL. It also ensures that Trebartha has a negative carbon footprint. THL has a share capital of £1.4m, of which TEL holds 49%. THL has been trading since January 2016 and pays a rent to TEL and a dividend. In the short term, THL will not generate significant additional resources for TEL, particularly whilst a loan of £450k is outstanding. THL proposes to make a capital distribution every three years. TEL will repay its loan to Barclays by 2030 and THL will revert to TEL in March 2036. 

The Barns Strategy 

19. TEL’s barns strategy seeks to convert liabilities into assets. However, it has proved extremely difficult in practice to identify alternative uses which will offer an appropriate financial return. The fine Grade 2* barns at Trebartha Barton present a particular challenge. It may therefore be necessary to treat some properties in the core of the Estate as heritage projects. Some practical use should be found for them, even if this does not generate a commercial return. 9 

Disposal of Land 

20. The existing policy is that: 

(i) TEL should only dispose of properties or land in the last resort and provided that the proceeds are invested in enhancing the value of the Estate; 

(ii) Properties should not be sold to shareholders at a discount; and 

(iii) The central amenity areas should be retained for the enjoyment of all shareholders. 

21. There may be a need to sell some properties or land on the fringes of the Estate in order to fund the restoration of our listed properties and barns. A recent example is the sale of land, with planning permission, at Lynher Close. “Enabling Development” may increase the income which TEL is able to generate from any sale. 

22. The Board is willing to consider selling barns to family members on terms to ensure that ownership is maintained within the family. This brings in a new source of funding to restore our heritage assets. There are currently vacant barns at Stonaford, Tolcarne and West Castick. Priority will be given to branches of the family who do not currently have properties at Trebartha. 

23. TEL may acquire agricultural land to replenish any land that is sold. 

Robert Latham 
9 October 2018 

1999 review: Strategy and Management 2000-2010

In 1999, Jolyon led a strategic review, which led to a report which has informed Trebartha decisions ever since. The report can be seen by clicking on this LINK.