Barclays sends Brexit clinic invitations out to farms

100 Brexit Clinics will take place across the country focusing on trading relationships, the future of subsidy payments, agricultural policy, migrant labour and exporting
100 Brexit Clinics will take place across the country focusing on trading relationships, the future of subsidy payments, agricultural policy, migrant labour and exporting

Barclays is sending out thousands of invites to farm businesses and rural SMEs for its new Brexit clinics as political uncertainty continues.

The bank has launched an additional 100 Brexit clinics throughout next month and November to provide free business support.

The initiative focuses on agriculture and manufacturing clients and will be hosted across UK.

To help tackle the uncertainty, Barclays will also be launching a report at the clinics to showcase some of the most diverse rural businesses across the UK.

The report shines a spotlight on how some farmers have diversified to build resilience, including Gazegill Organics, in Lancashire.

After seeing a demand for local home-grown produce from consumers hungry to find out more about the origins of their food, Gazegill Organics began selling produce online directly to consumers across the country.

As their business grows, Gazegill has also invested in renewable energy sources for the farm, including solar-panels and a turbine, to lower costs.

Emma Robinson, Head of Gazegill Organics, said: “We know Brexit is going to bring both opportunities and challenges over the next few years.

“At Gazegill Organics we’re responding by really tuning into the domestic demand for locally sourced goods and organic produce.

“We’ve diversified so that we can sell direct to the consumer, and sales of our organic food has tripled in the last year.”

Barclay's network of 1,500 managers and industry specialists will host the clinics, with agricultural managers focusing on topics like trading relationships, the future of subsidy payments, agricultural policy, migrant labour, and exporting.

Thousands of invites will be issued over the following weeks to SMEs, farmers and corporate clients across the country.

Over a thousand SMEs attended the first 100 clinics in March.