Farmer Fund starts off the New Year with £5 Million of New Funds

The Farm Fund’s asset manager Manor House Farms has got the New Year off to a flying start as they are now purchasing £5M of farm assets for the Close Trading Companies (CTC), managed by Close Asset Management.

The concept of the Farm Fund is to invest directly in farm businesses, working alongside farmers who have a requirement for capital to unlock growth potential or to enable a family re-structuring or landlord and tenant structure to be re-worked. The Farm Fund is continuing its fund raising, with the next closing in June 2010

Close Asset Management responded positively to an approach by Manor House Farm, the Farm Fund’s asset manager, to invest in farming in Autumn 2009. This follows Close Asset Management’s previous successes with Forestry and other niche investments and with the principals of Manor House Farm in their consistent and longstanding track record of success with Close Asset Management.

The expertise of the Manor House Farm team ranges from alternative energy projects to detailing the gross margins of each separate enterprise to allow for better day to day decision making. Manor House Farm are using their expertise to work directly with farmers who have a requirement for capital, to unlock the growth potential of their farms. Diversification opportunities, in addition to commercial farming, include developments such as farm shops, small offices, holiday rentals or out-door sporting pursuits.

The investments made are expected to provide a steady core return from the farm businesses, augmented by additional value from new and related farm enterprises and through optimising of the land and property assets. Recent industry forecasts indicate that the core return from farm land will continue to rise in the short and medium term by about 6% per annum. These forecasts reinforce those that Smiths Gore and the Farm Fund used when launching the Fund.

Jonathan Naughton, Principal of the Farm Fund and Manor House Farms said:

"We are delighted to be working with Close on the CTC service. This sector offers first rate opportunities for investors although only where the tight supply of rural assets can be unlocked. We and our team have been able to use our life long experience of real farming issues to pursue opportunities to invest directly in diversification, family re-structuring and landlord and tenant marriage value opportunities"

Ian Read, Principal of the Farm Fund and Manor House Farms said;

"After many years of success with Close Asset Management I am particularly looking forward to this latest venture as it involves my life long involvement with rural land. We are now looking at a range of potential investments."