Tag Archives: focused
‘Deep-Pocketed’ UK Land Investors Hit 3-Year High
The number of large investors queuing to buy UK farmland has hit its highest in three years, but demand is focused on high-quality arable operations, whose premium over low-quality grassland continues to increase. Savills, the land consultancy, said that the number of investors with £5m-10m to spend on farmland had risen to its highest quarterly total in three years, some 13% above the average. “There has been an increase in the number of applicants who have deeper pockets for buying farmland”, said the group, which has investors with some £6bn to spend on farmland on its books. “A large proportion of these funds will still be available into next year,” given the shortage of farmland for sale, with the supply of 128,000 hectares in the first nine months “historically low”, the group said. What is in demand However, buyers were focused on high quality arable farms, particularly in the east of England – a factor reflected in price growth which has hit 8.5% in the January-to-September period, taking average values nearly to £8,300 an acre. That includes growth of 2.3% in the latest quarter. “What they want is top quality, big farms, that will give them price appreciation and a bit of yield,” Ian Bailey, Savills’ head of rural research, told Agrimoney.com. “They are looking for big blocks of arable land. It is that market which has been doing best.” Regional gap However, there were differences within the market, with investors preferring the east of England which government data last week reaffirmed as the best yielding for wheat, with an average of 7.9 tonnes per hectare. That increased its advantage over wetter western areas, which were hurt particularly by the wet spell in 2012 and in the early months of 2013, with north west yields this year averaging 5.4 tonnes per hectare. In the land market, while prime arable farms in the east of England land appreciated by 4.6% in the July-to-September quarter, the market in western areas, including Wales, stagnated. Indeed, in Wales, research “indicates no change in prime arable values since December”, leaving them at about £7,000 an acre. ‘Really sluggish’ In the market for smaller and grassland farms too, and those where residential assets make up a large proportion of the overall value, activity “is really sluggish”, Mr Bailey said. “For a stock farm of 150 acres, you are probably looking at sub-5% price growth, compared with 8-10% for the top end.” The group said it was “comfortable” with its forecast for farmland values overall rising by 8.8% this year, but acknowledged that prices of top arable operations, and “the best” dairy farms, would see stronger growth. Continue reading
BlueFire Renewables Adds Pellet Production To Miss. Facility
By BlueFire Renewables Inc. | October 03, 2013 BlueFire Renewables Inc., a company focused on changing the world’s transportation fuel paradigm, has integrated a synergistic wood pellet production plant to its facility in Fulton, Miss. The reconfigured design will be a 9 million gallon per year ethanol plant integrated with a 400,000 ton per year wood pellet plant. The pellets will be sold under long term contracts into the European mandated renewable energy market. “This restructure provides a more robust economic model for the Fulton facility with a significant increase in projected revenues. It has become apparent in our attempts to obtain financing for the project that the right synergies and revenue model would be needed to build this first of a kind facility,” said Arnold Klann, president and CEO of BlueFire. “The optimum use of biomass in the integrated facility strikes a much better balance of revenue with costs and a better utilization of resources. The more profitable use of capital and the enhanced security of projected revenue streams more closely match what the banks have been requiring in the very conservative and restricted credit markets.” Traditionally wood pellets are used for electricity generation and can be sold under long-term, fixed-price contracts to credit worthy utilities thereby adding financial stability to the project. Blended with lignin from BlueFire’s process, the wood pellets create a market advantage under the international mandates for renewable energy, especially for power in the European Union. BlueFire has previously announced start of construction and has completed the preliminary site work for the ethanol facility. The engineering and other development activities needed are already under way to add the pellet plant. Synergistic partners will be announced once the definitive agreements are signed. Continue reading
All Asia Asset Capital joins AIM
02/05/2013 Harriet Russell The company is focused on South East Asia All Asia Asset Capital, an investment company focused on investing in the growing markets of Southeast Asia joined London’s junior market today. Allenby Capital is acting as nominated adviser and broker. The company has raised approximately £3.6 million following the issue of 119 million new shares. The net proceeds, which are expected to amount to approximately £3.3 million, will primarily be used to identify, evaluate and select suitable investment opportunities. The investment objective of All Asia is to invest in a portfolio of companies with at least the majority of their operations in Southeast Asia with an expected initial focus on Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Burma. The directors intend to invest in companies that operate in industries with ‘high growth potential’ including, but not limited to agriculture, forestry and plantations, mining, natural resources, property and technology. Whilst the directors have not yet carried out any due diligence on any investment opportunities or entered into any discussions or agreements, examples of potential investment opportunities include an investment in a plant in Indonesia that processes sweet potatoes into starch for use in processed foods and an investment in a greenhouse farming operation in Indonesia that intends to acquire land and expand production of sweet melon to a target yield of 1,125 metric tonnes per annum. The year-on-year real GDP growth in Southeast Asia, represented by the ASEAN countries, is projected by the International Monetary Fund to reach an average of 5.5 per cent in 2013 (compared to 1 per cent in the UK and 2 per cent in the USA). The chief executive is Sri Hartati Kurniawan, who between 2007 and 2012 held senior management positions in RCG Holdings, another company listed on AIM. Shares in All Asia Asset Capital were trading at 3.6p this morning. Continue reading
