Couple buy land to rear cattle and complement their employed income

Chris Morley has a huge amount of experience in breeding cattle. He ran dairy herds in the UK and the USA and was head herdsman at Plumpton Agricultural College. He now works as a breeding advisor for Genus PLC, the global livestock genetics business. His wife Jo has worked in administration for the livestock marketing business, Meadow Quality Ltd.

They owned a few cattle which they kept on a friend’s farm but have always been keen to buy land to develop their own cattle breeding and rearing enterprise. They saw an opportunity when 38 acres of land at Braydon Field Farm, Wiltshire came on the market.

Chris and Jo have a residential buy-to-let property portfolio and have always used a mortgage adviser for help in financing those purchases.

Chris said: “If you go direct to a bank, you don’t know if you are getting the best deal. Using a mortgage adviser you get more insight, access to knowledge of the whole market and get the best results.”

However, their mortgage advisor had no experience of agricultural mortgages.

R&BS were recommended by trusted advisors

Tom Pullin of auctioneers, valuers and rural surveyors Voyce Pullin advised Chris to talk to Rob Lister at R&BS.

Rob and Chris discussed the business plan, and Rob prepared a detailed lending proposal to put to several different banks based on 70% of the purchase price on a 25-year loan with an interest only facility for the first 12 months, while they develop the enterprise.

Bank praised the quality of the report which swayed the decision

Chris said, “My bank manager said the quality of Rob’s lending proposal was exceptional. In fact, he said he had never seen a report like it. The report gave the bank complete confidence to take the deal forward with us.”

The mortgage was completed relatively simply, and Rob supported Chris and Jo throughout the completion process.

They have already begun a contract rearing agreement for 20 dairy calves for a local farmer. Their aim is to source beef calves from Meadow Quality to rear and to develop their own premium suckler herd.

The income will be supplemented by letting 12 stables on the site with 12 acres. Chris and Jo will also continue to work in their jobs and retain their buy-to-let property portfolio.

The combination of Chris and Jo’s skills and experiences offered the perfect opportunity to develop a strong enterprise to complement their employed income, but they needed help convincing banks of the viability of the business and their ability to service the debt. We were delighted to help them achieve their ambition of buying land to turn their interests and knowledge into another source of income.