UK Agricultural Finance supports farmer with £152,000 bridge

Having successfully secured planning permission for 24 houses, a farmer in the North West of England was disappointed to have planning turned down on a neighbouring site for an extra 30 homes.

The team at UK Agricultural Finance – which has experience of providing development capital to the rural community – recognised that the farmer needed funds to mitigate immediate servicing pressure on his existing financing while he appealed the planning decision.

The team visited the farmer and took the time to understand the driving factors in the planning decision.

An independent survey showed the council had not hit its five-year housing supply target and a visual impact study demonstrated that the farmer’s site was better than others the council was considering.

UK Agricultural Finance took first charge collateral over two pieces of high-quality farmland with good road access and sheep handling facilities, leaving the development site unencumbered.

The specialist team not only understood the collateral, but also the demand for this type of land.

Graham Noble, CEO at UK Agricultural Finance, said: “Having a specialist team in agriculture that provides manual underwriting, allows us to take the time to understand a farmer’s circumstance and make responsible, informed underwriting decisions. 

“In this case, we were able to provide an offer in principle within 24 hours and provide financing in days.”

The specialist lender provides debt finance to farmers looking to develop, renovate or repair property for capital appreciation or income generation.