Rich Mills: Associate Director, Consulting

How long have you worked at Rural Solutions?

I joined just over a year ago, and it has been a great fit for me so far. I enjoy the mix of strategic thinking and working with a wide range of estates and landowning clients to deliver projects that genuinely make a positive difference to rural places.

What was your background before joining Rural Solutions?

I am a Chartered Accountant and spent close to ten years at PwC – one of the ‘big four’ accountancy firms in the UK. I specialised in real estate finance and transactions for five years before taking a career break. Spending nearly two years backpacking and working abroad gave me plenty of time to reflect on what I wanted to do. I left London and my finance career to spend more time in the countryside, gain more freedom over my time, and work on more meaningful projects that combine my expertise in real estate and finance with environmental and social impact. This led to me founding and managing my own businesses and working as a freelance consultant before I joined Rural Solutions last year.

Can you tell us more about the Consulting team, and what you do at Rural Solutions?

The Consulting team works with clients to identify the ‘art of the possible’ when it comes to establishing and growing successful rural businesses, and to maximise the value and impact of their land and property assets through diversification and development.

This involves looking at challenges and opportunities through multiple lenses to determine long-term strategies and sustainable business models that fit with the aspirations and resources of our clients. As well as development and the re-use of buildings, we are increasingly working on nature-based solutions and incorporating renewable energy in our projects.

One of the great things about our team is that we all come from very different professional backgrounds, including finance, land management, development, and public relations. This diversity of skills and the expertise in rural planning, architecture, and landscape design across the business, means we bring different perspectives to each project. This adds real value for our clients, and I believe sets us apart from other rural property and business advisors.

What does a typical day look like for you?

My days are varied and entail all the things you’d expect a consultant to spend their time on, including talking to clients, visiting sites, meetings, research, analysis, and report writing. I work from home most days; I have a young family and enjoy the balance I have between being out on farms, in boardrooms, working at my desk and attending industry events.

My favourite days are those spent out in the countryside, walking the land and seeing dilapidated or unused buildings that their owner is keen to see have a brighter future. It’s great to learn first-hand about the often-generational connection that people have to these places, their stories as to how things have come to be, and their aspirations to give these assets a new lease of life and make a positive contribution to the fortunes of rural places.

What do you enjoy most about working at Rural Solutions?

The uniqueness and complexity of many of our projects – which often combine commercial strategy, placemaking and natural capital, in all sorts of rural locations and settings. My favourite projects are innovative, purposeful and bring together diverse stakeholders. I enjoy the breadth of ideas and considerations that must be factored into decision-making. I learn a lot through the work I do. It’s rewarding to me to identify connections and opportunities that others might overlook.

What is the most exciting or unusual project you’ve worked on?

I’m working on a few projects currently for clients that own large, vacant buildings, including heritage assets. Our role is to help figure out what they should do with them, and then to help bring that to fruition.

Each building has its own character and history, in different parts of the country, with owners and managers who all have different personalities, aspirations and budgets.

With each project being so different, we must quickly triangulate a range of information whilst building trusting relationships with clients and managing wider consultant teams and stakeholders.

I really enjoy these complex regeneration projects that have a positive impact and bring new life to rural places. Working with existing buildings and farmsteads can often result in the most interesting and rewarding outcomes.

Is there anything you’ve learnt since joining Rural Solutions that stands out?

The thing that stands out to me most from the past year is how quickly AI is developing. This isn’t specific to Rural Solutions, but it impacts us and our clients in many areas and will increasingly shape how businesses function.

Its research capabilities and ability to summarise information have progressed a lot in the past 12 months. Everything still requires human checks, and AI is currently nowhere near being able to lead projects and do the type of specialist strategic advisory work that we do, but it is increasingly helpful on lower-value tasks.

Where is your favourite place in the British countryside and why?

Rutland Water (pictured above) in the East Midlands. I grew up nearby and think I took it for granted as a kid. I love to go back and always feel at home there. It has a special charm.

And finally, describe Rural Solutions in three words:

Strategic. Dynamic. Collaborative.