We finance refurbishment of hub that helps farmers diversify

Caroline’s Rural Business Hub building refurbishment was financed by Rural Asset Finance

Farms often have unused spaces that can be converted to bring local people together – and give farmers an extra revenue stream.

Caroline Reeves set up a business that helps farmers do just that. Along the way, she discovered there’s a smart way of financing that protects cash flow.

“There are so many rural properties with spaces that could be converted or utilised to help people interact,” she says. “Creating spaces for co-working that are also flexible enough for, say, yoga classes or parent-child groups has a huge positive impact on communities.”

Caroline wanted to expand the space in her premises. She found the perfect funding solution from specialist agri-lender Rural Asset Finance, whose team have all lived on or run farms themselves. “They just ‘got it’,” she says. “People in rural communities, farmers, agricultural firms, other rural businesses, we all speak the same language – and so do Rural Asset Finance.”

Caroline got the idea for her business 10 years ago when she was a farm secretary who wanted somewhere “more professional” to meet clients. She bought and fitted out an old village shop. A decade on, the Rural Business Hub is building a new extension to connect the shop with some existing glamping pod offices so she can run workshops and courses to help farmers convert their own buildings.

Rural Asset Finance, she says, was the perfect partner – and is ideal for farmers wanting to finance their own projects. “There was just an instant connection,” she says. “We had tried to finance this through a bank but the loan-to-value of a commercial building was too high – and they could not see what we wanted to achieve. Rural Asset Finance understand rural communities and rural businesses and how they work.”

The premises before RAF financed its conversion

Rural Asset Finance’s head of sales Ben Wood worked with Caroline on an alternative to her existing loan that would enable her to grow the business while maintaining cash flow. “We met at her premises, which she offered as security, and this immediately showed Caroline’s business plan was suitable,” says Ben. “We looked at her existing facility, worked out what additional funds she would need, and we agreed a plan that would consolidate her previous loan and enable her to borrow more – all the while implementing her growth strategy while not adding any cashflow stress to her business.”

Caroline was delighted with the outcome. “I have never had such a smooth transition with funds as I had with Rural Asset Finance,” she says. “I saw they were part of the British Business Bank so they were underwritten by the government, which was immediately reassuring. Ben saw the vision and their solicitor Andrew (Carrier) was so efficient. I really welcomed all those conversations – they were professional but also informal and friendly, which is how things should be in a rural community.”

A key benefit was protecting her cashflow. “I managed to get a Rural Business Enterprise and Community Grant, but I had pay for everything up front so Rural Asset Finance’s loan enabled me to pay for my meeting room, the glass panelling, the kitting out, and then I’ll be able to draw down the grant which will release cash back up into reactivating some lapsed planning consent to we can start work on the extension.”

With Rural Asset Finance’s money, Caroline created what she calls a “blueprint” for others to follow at that former shop, The Old Post Office in the village of Hurstbourne Tarrant in Hampshire. “I want to show people this is what you can do if you’ve got vacant space on your farms or other rural businesses. We’ve got our space, but we’re also teaming up with the pub, which is allowing us to use one of their rooms. It’s enabling the community to come together – we can advise and show people how to use their own spaces to maximise that earning potential.”

For farmers who want to convert spaces, financing projects can be straightforward. Caroline says: “It’s so refreshing to find Rural Asset Finance, a lender that really, 100% understood exactly how we operated and what we wanted to do, that speaks the language of farmers and rural communities and is committed to supporting them. They got it, they got me – so they got the business.”

Rural Asset Finance offers loans and other bespoke finance packages secured on land and buildings, often in combination with equipment finance also on fixed-term, fixed-rate hire purchase or lease – while using existing assets as security and protecting your cashflow. To see how Rural Asset Finance can help you, visit ruralassetfinance.com