Senior Management
Nick
Shorter
Group Chief Executive
Nick joined Velcourt in 2001 and after graduating from the trainee program went on to manage farms in Eastern Europe and East Anglia. He joined the senior management team in 2009 relocating to Hampshire and was appointed to the Velcourt board as Director in 2014 and Managing Director in 2021.
As Chief Executive, Nick heads up the company’s management team and is responsible for corporate and strategic leadership as well as all areas of operation. In addition he continues to oversee and advise on a number of farming businesses in the south of England.
nshorter@velcourt.co.uk
01747 820230
Jason
Scott
Group Finance Director
After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, Jason joined Velcourt in 1996 and was appointed to the senior management team as Financial Controller in 2011. He joined the board of Velcourt Group Limited in September 2024.
He heads up the Finance team based at Ross-on-Wye and oversees all aspects of company and client financial reporting & governance, cash flow management, banking, insurance, pensions, risk management and company secretarial duties.
jscott@velcourt.co.uk
01531 660041
James
Townshend
Group Executive Chairman
James was appointed Group Chief Executive in 1991 and Chairman in 2013 having first joined the company back in 1978. His responsibilities include corporate governance, strategic leadership and support , product marketing and shareholder relations. The main enterprises on his family farm in Dorset are 2300 cows in milk, an AD plant and an arable enterprise : Velcourt manage the operation. James is a non-executive Director of Grosvenor Farms Ltd and in the recent past has contributed to the industry as a member of the Agri Tech Leadership Council , a Governor of the RAU and as the Prime Minister’s Trade Ambassador for the UK’s food and farming sector
jtownshend@velcourt.co.uk
01935 483539
Robbie
Taylor
Farms Director
Head of Livestock
Robbie joined Velcourt in 1992 and spent more than a decade managing large dairy businesses in the South West. He was appointed Senior Livestock Manager in 2002 followed by Farms Director in 2004. Robbie specialises in milk and livestock production and dairy farm management systems, oversees seven farming businesses and is responsible for international livestock consultancy, livestock technical and nutrition, produce marketing and central purchasing for livestock.
rtaylor@velcourt.co.uk
01935 482211
David
Cousins
Farms Director
Head of Arable
David joined Velcourt as Farms Director in 2019, with thirty years of broad-based farm management, agribusiness consultancy and supply chain experience in the UK and overseas. He has a BSc (Hons) Degree in Agriculture from Newcastle University, a Diploma in Surveying (Rural Practice), is a Nuffield Scholar and Fellow of the Institute of Agricultural Management. David and his team of managers run a number of businesses across the region, producing both combinable and root crops and he is also responsible for the central purchasing of seeds, fertilisers and pesticides.
dcousins@velcourt.co.uk
01780 460010
Ian
Smith
Farms Director
Midlands
Ian joined Velcourt in 2024 becoming Farms Director for the Midlands, with over 30 years’ experience of Farm Estate business management. He now oversees a diverse range of farming businesses specialising in combinable crop production, energy crops, root crops, livestock and countryside stewardship. .
ismith@velcourt.co.uk
01780 460010
Charlie
Batten
Farms Director South
After graduating from Newcastle University, Charlie joined Velcourt in 2009 as a trainee farm manager. Having completed the management training scheme, he became assistant farm manager on a large root crop business, and then went on to manage an 800 hectare farm in Suffolk. Charlie now directly manages a 2700 hectare contract farming business in Hampshire, consisting of 12 farms, and oversees a number of other Velcourt farms in the South East of England. He also jointly manages central machinery relationships for the company.
cbatten@velcourt.co.uk
01794 341757
Matt
Gregory
Farms Director east
Matt joined Velcourt in 1994 after graduating from Aberystwyth University and joined our Management Training Scheme in 1996. In 1998 he took on his first management role concentrating on potato, onion, sugar beet and combinable crop production. As well as retaining direct management responsibilities, Matt now oversees several farming businesses in Suffolk, providing sustainable, safe and profitable farm management solutions.
mgregory@velcourt.co.uk
01394 450636
Crop Technology
Environmental Lead
Nick Anderson
Technical Director
Nick graduated from Harper Adams with a BSc (Hons) in Agriculture in 2009 and worked as an agronomist in East Anglia for a number of years. In 2015 Nick moved to Russia working with a 200,000 ha farming business to improve all aspects of crop production.
Nick continues to work as a consultant to a number of large farming businesses in Eastern Europe and the CIS region alongside his role as Head of Crop Technology for Velcourt. In his current position, Nick works closely with Velcourt Farm Managers and Agronomists to optimise crop production systems and strategy for the company and its clients.
nanderson@velcourt.co.uk
01780 460010
Nick Down
Senior Farm Manager - Environmental Lead
Nick joined Velcourt in 2002 as a trainee farm manager after graduating from the University of Plymouth with a BSc (Hons) degree in Agriculture. After a farm management role in Wiltshire, Nick now manages the farming enterprise of the Yattendon Estate in Berkshire, offers agronomy advice across north Wiltshire and also acts as Environmental Lead comprising the areas of natural capital, soil health and environmental stewardship.
ndown@velcourt.co.uk
01635 203906
Advisors
Sam Tugwell
Regional Advisor
Before joining velcourt Sam worked as an assistant farm manager for a 1500acre farm, part of a 10,000acre farming business, assisting in making management and agronomic decisions, walking crops on a regular basis with the farms agronomist. Sam also played a part in ensuring the whole arable farm complied with assured standards
Prior to that Sam ran a contract farming business farming up to 1,000 acres of arable land making all management decisions and performing the majority of the practical faming operations himself.
Before that Sam managed his family’s 700acre arable farm again preforming the majority of the practical farming operations alongside the decision making process. Sam is BASIS trained, and has keen interests in, on farm agronomy, soil fertility, soil health, nutrient management, and precision farming technology
Chris Spain
Regional Advisor South West
Chris joined Velcourt as an South West Regional Agronomist in 2019. Chris moved to Hampshire in 1996 when he was appointed as Farm Manager on a large mixed enterprise and private Estate.
In 2012, he specialised in morphine poppy production and became U.K. and Portuguese Poppy Operations Manager for Johnson Matthey being responsible for all aspects of 4000 hectares of poppy production. In 2017 he became a regional distribution agronomist, whilst continuing to advise on the U.K. poppy production following an industry restructuring. Chris joined Velcourt with significant practical and agronomy knowledge. He advises on farms across the South West.
Non Executive Directors
Anthony Colburn
Anthony Colburn is based in Gloucestershire where he owns and farms land. He is managing director of a farming company in Lincolnshire and a non-executive director or trustee of several estates with extensive property and farming interests. He has served as a Governor of the Royal Agricultural University and joined the Velcourt Board in 2012.
Steve Ellwood
Steve has a wealth of experience within the UK agriculture and agrifood sectors. He was Head of Agriculture at HSBC for ten years and spent four years as Head of Food and Agriculture at Smith & Williamson before taking on a number of non-executive roles for a range of companies in the fresh produce, agricultural supplies and plant breeding industries.
David Teague
David was Financial Director and Company Secretary of Velcourt Group plc from 1984 to 2023. He has extensive experience with agricultural and land-based businesses in the UK and Europe, including creating bespoke funding arrangements and corporate structures, developing commercial relationships and liaising with private and institutional shareholders. David holds a number of non-executive roles in other agricultural corporations and institutions.