Compared to other banks, Oxbury Bank is relatively new on the finance scene having only been lending since 2021, but as the UK’s only specialist agricultural bank they have already established themselves in the rural economy with farming SMEs. They are now looking to widen their focus and are turning their attention to food and drink with the announcement of a £250m fund available to small and medium businesses in the UK’s farm and food sector.
To learn more about Oxbury Bank as a potential
new finance supplier to the Welsh agri-food and drink sector, we invited a small group of Sustainable Scale Up Cluster members to visit Oxbury Bank at their Chester headquarters where we were welcomed by the MD, Nick Evans and members of his team.
The visit demonstrated the opportunities for access to finance to the businesses present as well as the chance to discuss with Oxbury the capital requirements of Welsh food and drink businesses. Key topics that formed the discussion included sustainability, how carbon credentials are increasingly important for all businesses; inevitably there was talk of energy prices and whether collaboration through projects like Cymru Connects is a possible solution; interest rates and the need to be extra careful when agreeing/accepting rates on products at the moment; how accessible are grants for food and drink businesses and finally, how asset finance works from a bank’s perspective.
The businesses present went away having certainly learned something new for consideration in managing the finances of their business, and a number are continuing their dialogue with Oxbury Bank.
For more details about Oxbury Bank visit https://www.oxbury.com/
If you’re interested in joining a similar visit in the future, contact Cluster Manager Wyn Jones on wyn.jones@bic-innovation.com