Harper Forum: Nidera UK and Lloyds Bank

Posted 3 May 2016

By Tom Whittaker

On Thursday 21 April we welcomed Stewart Johnson of Nidera UK. Stewart is the Grain trading manager for Nidera North West. Nidera was formed in 1920, and has since become one of the leading grain merchants in the UK and one of the UK’s largest grain exporters, supplying cereals, oilseeds and protein to the food, feed and bio energy industries.  Last year Nidera UK acquired the domestic trading business of Criddle and Co who have kindly sponsored Harper Forum for the past year.

The talk was highly relevant to anyone interested in arable farming or becoming a grain trader. During the talk Mr Johnson spoke about the attributes required to be a good trader as well discussing the gloomy outlook for grain markets in 2016/2017. He also spoke about the potential benefits and risks to UK agriculture of Britain’s possible withdrawal from the European Union.

Last Thursday (28th April) we welcomed Jonathan Jenkins and Di Preece who work for the agricultural division of Lloyds Bank and spoke about ‘Raising farm finance’. Mr Jenkins is the Area Director for Agriculture in the North Wales & Borders while Ms Preece is the Agriculture Relationship Manager for the area. 

Lloyds Bank celebrated its 250th birthday last year and claims to be a responsible lender with 8 out of 10 requests for finance being agreed.

Mr Jenkins has the authority to approve loans of up to £1.3 million. The first step in gaining finance is to prepare a business plan with SWOT analysis. The following are looked at next: Character, Capital and Capability, as well as: Purpose, Amount, Repayment, Terms and Security.

Examples of projects for which loans have recently been agreed include anaerobic digesters, robotic milking parlours, poultry units and finance to cover delays in receiving Basic Payment Schemes.

The talk was most interesting and highly relevant to students who are interested in securing finance for future business projects.

This week (Thursday 5 May) we welcome John Giles of Promar who will be speaking about what he sees happening in UK and Global dairy. It will be held at 7PM in the Regional Food Academy Lecture Theatre and all staff and students are welcome.