Consultancy Terms of Business
Loch Shaped Hole Ltd, trading as LSH Forestry
Last updated: June 2026
These terms set out how we work with you. They're written to be read, not filed away, but they are the contract between us, so they matter. Where we send you a separate proposal or engagement summary for a specific piece of work, that document and these terms work together: if anything in the proposal contradicts these terms, the proposal wins for that job.
1. Who we are
We are Loch Shaped Hole Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 15201380), trading as LSH Forestry. Our registered office is Fifteen Montgomery Way, Rosehill Industrial Estate, Carlisle, CA1 2RW. Our trading address is The Guild, 5 Abbey Street, Carlisle, CA3 8TX. We are VAT registered (VAT number 455 5118 91).
2. Agreeing to work together
We'll set out the work, the fee, and anything specific to your project in a proposal or engagement summary. You accept it, and these terms, when you tell us to proceed, whether by signing, replying to confirm by email, or asking us to start the work. Once you've done that, we have an agreement.
3. What we'll do
We'll carry out the work described in your proposal with reasonable skill and care, to the standard you'd expect of a competent forestry consultant. We'll keep you informed, flag anything that changes the picture, and be straight with you about what's realistic.
4. What we need from you
Our work depends on you. You agree to give us accurate information, the documents we ask for, and timely decisions and approvals; to do the things the proposal says are yours to do; and to tell us promptly if something changes on your end. If we're held up or have to redo work because information was missing, wrong, or late, additional time may be chargeable.
5. Grants: what we can and can't promise
A lot of our work involves applying for grants and stewardship agreements. We'll prepare and submit applications and claims diligently and give them the best chance of success. But the decision to award, pay, or continue a grant rests with the Forestry Commission, Rural Payments Agency, Scottish Forestry, or other awarding body. We can't and don't guarantee that any grant will be awarded, paid at any particular level, or retained, and we're not responsible for a shortfall, refusal, or clawback that results from an awarding body's decision, a change in scheme rules, or your not meeting the scheme's ongoing requirements.
6. Our fees
We'll either quote you a fixed price or work at our hourly rate, as set out in your proposal. Our rates are reviewed each April. All fees are exclusive of VAT, which we'll add at the rate in force. Unless the proposal says otherwise, we invoice on completion or monthly for ongoing work, and payment is due within 30 days. We may charge interest on late payment under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
7. If work stops before it's finished
Either of us can bring a piece of work to an end by letting the other know in writing (email is fine). If work stops for any reason before it's complete, including because you ask us to stop or because something outside our control prevents us finishing, you remain liable for the fee for the work we've done up to that point. For hourly work, that's the time spent. For fixed-price work, it's a fair proportion of the fixed fee reflecting the work completed, which we'll assess from our records. Sums already invoiced remain payable.
8. Our responsibility to you
We carry professional indemnity insurance and we stand behind our advice. If we get something wrong through our negligence or a breach of these terms, we'll put right what we reasonably can, and we'll meet a valid claim up to a limit of £50,000, or the total fees you've paid us for the work in question if that's greater. Beyond that limit, and for indirect or consequential losses, our liability is excluded. We're not responsible for a loss of grant funding that results from an awarding body's decision rather than our own failure. Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that can't lawfully be excluded.
9. Your information and confidentiality
We'll keep what you share with us confidential and use it only for your work, except where we need to share it with an awarding body or are required to disclose it by law. We handle personal data in line with UK data protection law; our privacy notice is at lshforestry.co.uk/privacy. You're fine for us to keep your details to administer your work and, unless you tell us otherwise, to contact you about related services.
10. Other people's work
Where a job needs specialist input we don't provide, for example an ecological survey or a solicitor, we'll either arrange it with your agreement or point you to someone. We're not responsible for the work of third parties you engage directly.
11. If something's not right
If you're ever unhappy with our work, tell us first; most things are sorted out quickly with a conversation. You can reach us at info@lshforestry.co.uk.
12. The law that applies
These terms, and any work we do under them, are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction.
13. Changes
We may update these terms from time to time; the version that applies to a piece of work is the one current when you accept the proposal for it. Any changes to an agreed proposal need to be agreed between us in writing (email counts).