Bidwells Launches European Farming Opportunities and the 'Next Generation' of Farm Retailing at Cereals 2008
June 2008Bidwells Launches European Farming Opportunities and the 'Next Generation' of Farm Retailing at Cereals 2008
Bidwells Agribusiness, the UK's leading agribusiness consultancy, is pleased to announce at Cereals the launch of a number of farming opportunities across Western and Eastern Europe. Bidwells have been working with a number of funds over the past twelve months and are in the process of acquiring over 150,000 acres of land for funds in the UK, France, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic,
Hungary and Romania.
Richard Warburton, Head of Agribusiness at Bidwells, commented "We are working with a number of funds, some of whom are engaging in operational farming through Joint Venture arrangements and contract farming, and some of whom wish to let land to third party tenants. Returns on working capital can be in excess of 50% of UK levels. Bidwells can provide on the ground professional services and support both directly and through partnership arrangements with local advisors."
Also at Cereals Bidwells will be demonstrating their extensive expertise in farm retailing and considering what the future retail trends are likely to be. Richard Walters, Head of Food Marketing at Bidwells, will be on hand to demonstrate how farm shops, food halls and garden centres can seize the opportunity for developing increasingly sophisticated food retail offers on the back of growing consumer demand for food products with provenance. "More and more people are looking for a shopping experience that offers 'something different' – the challenge is to create the next generation of retail businesses – a mix of tradition with the contemporary, style with practicality and most importantly investment with profits" concludes Mr Walters.
Bidwells services in this area include concept and business planning, market research, advice on store design and layout as well as implementing branding and PR strategies, assisting with product sourcing and on-going business advice.
David Cousins, Head of Bidwells Farm Management team, will also be launching last harvests' final contract farming results. The 2007 results, collated from over 65,000 acres, show a 48% increase in the net profitability from £131/ac (£324/ha) to £194/ac (£479/ha); clear evidence that the increase in prices outstripped the increase in costs and more than compensated for the disappointing yields.
Moreover, the results show that the profitability has increased to a level not seen since the high point of the early 1990's It is clear that both parties have shared in the increased profitability, with an average return to the farmer of £125 /ac (£309 /ha) compared with £96 /ac (£236/ha) in 2006 and the 5-year rolling average of £100/ac (£247 /ha); an increase of 30% on the year and 52% over two years.
Visit: Bidwells Agribusiness
