Hannah brings wide rural management experience to The Manydown Rural Estate

A highly experienced rural land and property specialist has joined The Manydown Rural Estate in the newly created position of Estate Manager.

Hannah Dawson, a qualified Chartered Surveyor, moves from Strutt & Parker in Newbury where she worked for more than ten years, progressing to the position of Senior Associate Director. Her skills include farm, estate and rural property management.

She takes on this new role at an exciting time for the Estate which is undergoing a significant period of diversification to meet the challenges of running a modern and forward-thinking rural estate that is fully engaged with its community.

Hannah trained at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester (now the Royal Agricultural University) and is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) as well as a Member of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ALRA).

She said she is extremely excited to start work on the estate alongside its staff, tenants, contractors and neighbours, and hopes to bring lots of ideas and focus after many years looking after a range of different clients.

“It is a critical time for rural businesses and communities and I’m excited to be working with The Manydown Rural Estate team and the wider community. 

“With the increasing pressures on farming, diversification is absolutely crucial, and I am looking forward to helping the Estate drive forward on the next stage on its journey.”

One of Hannah’s first jobs will be helping to set up a new estate office at Whitedown Farm, where she will be based alongside Estate Foreman James Kelly and, when he is on site, Property Director David Neal-Smith. Whitedown Farm was recently converted from a set of farm buildings into a range of modern office and commercial spaces.

“The new office will be the hub of the Estate and a place to meet with tenants, contractors, and other professionals as well as people from the community,” she said.

Hannah grew up in Hampshire and after university joined Moundsmere Estate as a Farm and Estate Management Consultant.

She moved to property specialists Bays Curry McCowen in Winchester as a Rural Land Agent where she worked across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight for almost three years, before starting work in the Newbury office of Strutt & Parker in 2015.

Hannah, who has a daughter aged four and a one-year-old son, is closely involved with the John Edgar Trust, a Hampshire-based charity dedicated to helping people in southern England to achieve their potential in farming and rural enterprises and helping other young professionals develop their careers in farming, property management and rural businesses.

Property Director David Neal-Smith said: “We are so pleased to welcome Hannah to The Manydown Rural Estate team. Her experience, enthusiasm and local knowledge will, I am sure, greatly benefit the Estate and help it realise its full potential as a thriving rural business.”