Famous farm shop that featured in Teletubbies now at centre of £6.6m family court battle
A farm shop and garden center that was once home to iconic children’s TV show “Teletubbies” is at the center of a £6.6 million family battle in court.
The Country Market in Bordon, Hampshire, a popular shopping centre, car boot site and TV filming location, is currently the subject of a multi-million pound tug-of-war between 86-year-old matriarch June Marshall, supported by her daughter Sharon, and her two sons Gary and Dean Marshall.
The £6.6 million property has operated as a farm shop in the hands of the Marshall family since 1971; It is going from strength to strength and is expanding to include a range of concessions, including award-winning butchers, and has regular visits from TV crews for on-site filming.
But the stage was set for a family conflict over its future when “pioneering founder” Peter Marshall passed away in January 2017 at the age of 81, leaving questions about the future of the business.
The family is now at war in London’s High Court; June and Sharon Edwards, 62, are suing the men of the family, insisting that the partnership through which the business was run be terminated, the site sold and the proceeds shared.
But brothers Gary, 61, and Dean Marshall, 57, who run the day-to-day operations of the farm and shop, are desperate to keep the business in the family.
The Farmers Market was the brainchild of farmer Peter Marshall and his wife June. June, who founded this market in the 1970s, helped sell her products by going door to door with her Morris Traveler.
By 1983 Peter, whose family had farmed in the area since the 1850s, brought more farmland into the business and over time the Country Market Partnership launched a number of different attractions in the area, including a car boot sale, lively restaurant, garden center and department stores.
Since Peter and June started their farm business, it has grown from a small plot of a few acres to 200 acres where crops and plants are harvested for the farm shop.
Originally housed in an iconic oak wooden barn until it was destroyed by fire in 2010, Country Market has also become the location for a number of different TV shows, including “South Today,” “Country Ways,” “Car Booty” and “Teletubbies.”
Over the years, the partnership established by Peter and June has expanded to include their children, Gary, Dean and Sharon.
Gary and Dean have been key figures at Country Market for nearly 40 years; Gary joined Peter on the farm in 1980 and Dean 12 years later.
London’s High Court heard that following Peter’s death, disputes arose “over the dissolution of the partnership and the payment of ownership of Peter’s partnership interest”.
There were also disagreements “as to the extent of land included in the partnership ownership” and – more importantly – as to whether the farm shop partnership ended with Peter’s death.
The family conflict recently reached London’s High Court when June Marshall and her daughter Sharon filed a motion for an order calling for the partnership to be formally wound up and sold.
Brothers Gary and Dean insist the partnership still “goes on” despite their father’s death.
But June and Sharon’s lawyers argue that Peter Marshall’s death effectively ends the Country Market Partnership and that all family members involved are now “under the same duty to wind up and sell the business – without the right to continue trading”.
The court heard that June would be left financially struggling if the business was not sold, as she had to sell her and Peter’s shares to provide “sufficient funds” for herself.
However, in their written defense, the two brothers deny that their father’s death caused the partnership to end, and only admit that “partnership membership ended” with the father’s death.
The case, which had already accumulated more than £200,000 in solicitors’ bills, came before Deputy Master John Linwood at a two-day pre-trial hearing; During that hearing, attorneys argued over whether Gary and Dean Marshall had previously made binding “acceptances” acknowledging the dissolution of the partnership.
June and Sharon claimed the siblings had publicly acknowledged the end of the partnership in the past, pointing to a letter sent by their lawyers in September 2019 stating that there was “no disagreement between the parties regarding ending the partnership and selling the partnership business” and pointing to the dispute over land as the only remaining flashpoint.
But the brothers’ lawyers argued that such confessions were made in error and that it would be unfair to not allow them to recant when a trial is on the horizon and the stakes are so high.
“If the withdrawal is not allowed, it could undermine the value of the ongoing business and what has been done over the last 30 years to build that business,” said the brothers’ lawyer, Richard Flenley.
Deputy Master John Linwood ruled against the two brothers, accepting that a confession had been made and denying them the right to withdraw the confession before trial.
“I refuse the defendants’ application for leave to withdraw the confession,” he said, before concluding: “Finally, I find that the costs to the parties for this one-and-a-half day hearing are approximately £210,000. I urge them to do all they can to bring an end to this dispute, which I think will be in their best interests alone, especially given the costs that will escalate rapidly from now on.”
The case will be heard again at a later date unless an agreement is reached first.
