A fifth-generation, family-owned potato farm in Cornwall has invested in new equipment that will see productivity more than double, after securing a £400,000 funding package from Lloyds Bank. Situated in Lanlivery, Colwith Farm is a leading grower and supplier of premium quality Cornish potatoes, distributing to wholesale food suppliers and brands including McCain and Burts […]
Farming SMEs are bouncing back from the pandemic nearly twice as fast as other industries, with 96% of business owners reporting that their turnover now either matches or exceeds pre-Covid levels against a cross-industry average of 54%. New research from Paragon Bank also revealed that SME owners within the agricultural sector hold the highest levels […]
An Exmoor-based environmental and ecological projects contractor has acquired new larger premises and significantly increased its capacity, after securing a £400,000 financial package from the Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (AMC), a part of Lloyds Banking Group. GRT Countryside Care Ltd (GRT), which provides specialist services and support for countryside and environmental projects right across the South […]
Bridge Farm Group, one of the UK’s largest producers of ornamental plants, flowers and herbs, has secured £29m of debt finance from specialist lenders Shawbrook Bank and Tosca Debt Capital. As part of Bridge Farm Group’s investment in its operations, the business has developed a 48-acre, fully automated glass house in Spalding. The modern Clay […]
Rural businesses, which are so vital for transforming our food systems, will get a much needed boost from an ambitious new financing programme launched today by the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), as part of its broader efforts to address rising hunger and poverty levels in the world’s poorest countries. The Private Sector […]
Business Gateway has helped an agriculture software firm access over £16,000 of funding which has enabled the successful launch of an app that will improve farming health and safety. Launched in 2020, Smart Farmer logs pre-start safety checks on farm machinery, allowing operators to see when machines were last serviced and if there are any […]
Paragon Bank has provided a £360,000 funding deal to Alkmonton Dairy, a small, family-run farm in south Derbyshire, to enable the farm to process and bottle its own milk and supply its local community direct. The Harris family, which includes husband and wife Richard and Jo, owns the ‘Alkmonton Ayshire’ Pedigree dairy herd. Previously to […]
Newman’s Plants Limited and The Palfreymans Limited, providers of professional horticultural services to businesses and buildings, have been supported with a total of £3m in acquisition funding by leading alternative finance provider to mid-sized SMEs, ThinCats. Both businesses are franchisees of Urban Planters Franchise Limited, operating under the Urban Planters name, providing services including the […]
Propel, a leading UK independent finance lender has released a landmark study revealing the financial outlook among farmers post-pandemic and indicates the key investments that they are planning for 2021/22 and how they intend to finance them. Main findings: 75% of farmers are looking to acquire assets in the next 12 months. Nearly 60% of […]
During Q1 just under 15,000 acres of farmland were publicly marketed across Great Britain, continuing a five year run of low supply in Q1 according to analysis by Savills rural research. Alex Lawson Savills head of farm and estate sales comments, “There was very little stock carried over from last year, which has meant that […]
