Profitable partnerships and trusting talent
How the Knatchbull family are leading the way in setting up innovative joint ventures on their historic Kent estate.
17 November 2025
Connection runs deep at the Hatch Park Estate. The majority of the 2,700-acre estate near Ashford has been owned and stewarded by the Knatchbull family since 1486, during the reign of Henry VII.
But the current generations of the family, led by talent agent Kelly Knatchbull and her father, film producer Michael-John Knatchbull, are certainly not stuck in the past when it comes to creating a resilient future for their stunning estate.
In 2019, a strategic review led by our team helped Kelly and Michael-John articulate a clear ambition: to see the estate become a vibrant springboard for other local businesses, a place where ideas could take root and the wider community could thrive.
This developed from a sense that Hatch Park had become quite passive in the local landscape, particularly following a shift from in-hand to contract and tenant farming in the early 2000s.
Kelly was keen to identify how Hatch Park could begin to reappear in the local community, in ways that would have a positive impact in the context of modern life.
We understood that this required authenticity, avoiding performative gestures, instead focusing on real-life experiences. So, we looked at which groups of people interact with the estate and the ways in which we could make their experience really positive.
Significant financial reinvestment has been made throughout the residential let portfolio so that the estate can, hand on heart, say that it is letting high-quality, appealing rental properties to its 60 residential tenants.
Environmental journey
Kelly and Michael-John wanted to be able to say the same thing about the farmed environment and the landscape contribution that Hatch Park makes.
Creating a legacy by managing the farm and woodland in a more environmentally informed way has led to the return of species like dormice, the presence of which, excitingly, has just been confirmed for the first time in years.
With Kelly’s aspirations in mind, a chance encounter at the Groundswell regenerative farming event led to an unusual arrangement developing between the estate and livestock farmer Chris Woodhead and his wife, former London hairdresser turned shepherdess, Zoe.
Rather than offering a traditional tenancy agreement, the couple have moved to a house on the estate and brought their sheep and cattle with them to graze the pasture, while Chris is employed three days a week to work on the estate’s agri-environmental projects.
Their livestock will play a crucial role in the planned farming system change, and their collective arrival on the estate brought authenticity to the aspirations.
Evidencing the estate’s commitment to landscape-scale change also justified a successful application for over £100,000 in grant funding from the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FIPL) scheme.
Zoe has also joined the estate team to help us develop visitor experiences with an initial focus on educational visits that are funded through stewardship payments. Her role will be crucial for bringing a new generation of local people onto the estate.
Kelly had emphasised that she wanted Chris and Zoe to be at the heart of the whole process of change on the estate and that they could make the estate their ‘home farm’. We’re excited to work with them moving forward to deliver these aspirations.
Ice cream treat
Another successful venture for the estate began when local entrepreneur Sally Newall, founder of the thriving home-based business Simply Ice Cream, approached us about renting one of the estate’s buildings to support her expansion plans.
We knew Sally would be a perfect fit as soon as we met her and jumped at the chance to offer her a solution. Again, we tried to think beyond the scope of traditional tenancy arrangements.
As ice cream is quite a seasonal product with irregular monthly sales, we didn’t think a fixed rent made sense for either party. With the help of the estate’s legal advisers, we adapted a share-farming model. The estate buys some of the inputs and pays some of the fixed costs, and a profit-sharing arrangement is in place instead of rent.
Sally has said it’s worked well for her, because during the months when turnover has been low, so have her costs. It does mean the money that the estate receives fluctuates, but Sally isn’t just a tenant; she’s become an important ambassador and community builder on the estate.
The ability to build the kind of relationships we are establishing between Zoe, Chris, Sally and the estate really shows the value of working with talented people in your community. It is a key part of writing a new chapter for historic estates like Hatch Park.
Follow Chris, Zoe and Sally’s journeys
- Instagram: thechiefshepherdess and simplyicecreamkent
- YouTube: thesuperseriousfarmer13
Read more
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