Lending for more than land

Many people think that the Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (AMC) only lend for land purchases. This is far from the truth. AMC will lend to support any funding requirement as long as the borrowing is taken through a business or by an individual with a business connection to agriculture.

H & H Bowe as an AMC agent regularly deal with applications for numerous funding purposes including the traditional purchase of land and farm property but also more and more funding for building works and infrastructure expansion; sitting Tenant purchases; refinancing existing bank borrowing; funding the retirement of partners from existing businesses or divorce settlements; quota purchases; stock and machinery purchases and the acquisition of non agricultural property for investment purposes. At the moment one of the largest areas of lending by AMC is the refinancing of existing borrowing with other clearing banks.

AMC is a dedicated agricultural lender which was formed in 1928, as such the company understands the ups and down of modern agriculture. More recently AMC has become a solely owned subsidiary of Lloyds TSB but this has strengthened AMC's ability to lend both in terms of the interest rates which AMC are able to offer but more particularly because of the close connection between the local AMC agents, such as H & H Bowe, and the local Lloyds TSB Agricultural Managers.

Borrowing money is no different to buying a tractor, a fence post or feed. It is all about value for money and getting the best deal. The finances of a business should be no different and it is worthwhile regularly reviewing how a business is financed and as to whether there are better opportunities in the market. Finance charges nowadays can often form a fairly substantial part of a business' overheads and any savings that can be made will immediately increase the bottom line profit. Interest rate, although a major factor in choosing a lender, is not the only consideration. What about those "hidden" charges? Do you actually know the real cost of your current borrowings? To judge the real cost one should add the additional charges such as arrangement fees, annual charges, facility charges etc. In some cases these additional charges can be significant. This is where AMC differs.

Being a dedicated agricultural lender AMC understands that a farmer's time is best spent farming and not having to deal with administration. Once an AMC loan is completed AMC will not be knocking on the door every five minutes and reviewing what the business is doing, produce budgets, or reviewing the banking facilities. AMC only make a single one off charge at the commencement of the loan which is to contribute towards the costs of setting up the loan including valuation fees and administration costs. There are no other fees, annual or one off, unless the customer wishes to alter the terms of the arrangement with AMC.

AMC loans can also be structured on an interest only basis which in the current agricultural climate helps with cash flow flexibility. Term loans can be taken over any period from 5 - 40 years and are not automatically recallable on death. Funds can be borrowed at either fixed or variable rates or a combination. Alternatively AMC's Flexible Loan allows borrowing over a shorter period up to 5 years and is often used for building projects and new business diversification.

Alan Bowe and Tim Parsons of H & H Bowe are fully appointed AMC Valuers and between them have over 55 years of experience dealing with AMC. This experience combined with local knowledge regularly puts H & H Bowe Ltd in the list of top agents in the country. As such AMC value the recommendations and local perspective offered by H & H Bowe on lending proposals.

If you are considering restructuring existing farming debt or have any other borrowing requirements then either Tim Parsons or Alan Bowe would be happy to discuss your proposals, without obligation or initial cost. AMC will compete with any of the other clearing banks for sound business. If you wish to make an appointment to discuss AMC please contact the H & H Bowe office at Borderway on (01228) 640920.

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