Alt Investments
Romanian Farmland - It's The Hot New Asset Class, Say Founders Of Investment JV
A UK-based farm management business, Velcourt Group, has partnered with agriculture specialist firm Mintridge International to provide investment opportunities for clients such as family offices.
The businesses have created a joint venture firm based in Bucharest in Romania, callled Velcourt SRL.
Velcourt and Mintridge say Romania has the strongest investment case in Europe for such farmland when measured against criteria such as land availability, price and potential, legal framework, agricultural scope and climate suitability.
The move comes at a time when “hard assets” such as farmland are seen as offering relatively safe, but also lucrative, returns amid concerns that other assets, such as bonds, will be hit by central bank monetary expansion, or “quantitative easing”. Land prices in Romania, currently some of the lowest in Europe, are expected to strengthen and have already posted rises, year-on-year, of 20 per cent since the country joined the EU in 2007. In the UK, meanwhile, farmland is also attracting attention as working farms are exempt from inheritance taxes.
“We at Velcourt have frequently been approached by investors looking for opportunities to invest in the ownership and operation of farmland. Having researched numerous countries, we believe Romania offers a compelling case for the three central factors that makes land an attractive asset-class: scope for land value growth, the ability to acquire freehold land, and the soil quality for farming the land,” James Townshend, chief executive of Velcourt Group, said.
Velcourt was formed in 1967 and offers technical and business management of farms and estates for private, institutional and corporate investors. It specialises in large-scale arable and dairy farming across Europe. It has also operated within Africa and Australia. Its UK operation has grown to manage 50,400 hectares for 81 client businesses.
Mintridge International provides a sourcing, acquisition and management service for investors looking to invest in the emerging farmland markets of CEE countries.
