Farming runs on a clock that rarely lines up with when the money arrives. You buy seed, feed, fertiliser, fuel and stock months before a crop is sold or an animal is ready, and income often lands in a few concentrated payments at harvest or sale. Credicorp lends to UK limited companies and LLPs that farm or trade in agriculture for genuine business purposes — including farm businesses that have incorporated as a limited company.
The seasonal cash-flow gap
Most agricultural businesses earn unevenly across the year. An arable farm may take the bulk of its revenue at harvest; a livestock operation around sale or finishing dates; a dairy on a monthly milk cheque that still has to cover heavy input costs in between. The result is long stretches where money goes out steadily and comes in rarely. Short-term business finance is built for exactly that timing mismatch — covering a genuine, planned gap rather than propping up a loss-making position.
What funding can support
- Buying seed, feed, fertiliser, fuel and other inputs ahead of a season
- Funding livestock purchases or a larger finishing batch
- Bridging the gap between input costs and harvest or sale income
- Plant, machinery and equipment — tractors, handling kit, irrigation, storage and processing capacity
- Carrying fixed costs through a known quiet spell between income events
If your spend is mainly on stock and materials, our notes on financing materials and stock purchases and equipment and plant costs for incorporated firms go into more detail on each use.
How we assess farm businesses
We look at your trading cycle, your order book or contracts, and your trading history — not a single snapshot. A farm with a clear seasonal pattern and a realistic plan for the income that repays a facility is exactly the shape of business this kind of lending suits. We know agricultural income arrives in lumps, so we assess affordability against your real calendar. The rate and term are set out in your offer and reflect your own company's profile.
Related to food and drink production
Many farms also process or sell their own produce, and the cash-flow realities overlap closely with on-farm and artisan producers. If that's you, our guidance on funding for food and drink producers covers stockholding, lead times and trade payment terms. For the wider principle of planning around peaks and troughs, see managing cash flow in a seasonal business.
The basics
The facility is to your company, with no personal guarantee from directors. We lend to incorporated businesses for a reason — our note on why we lend to companies, not sole traders explains the position, so a farm trading as a sole trader or partnership wouldn't qualify until it incorporates. Credicorp is an exempt business lender outside the FCA consumer-credit regime, so the Financial Ombudsman Service and FSCS do not apply.
See also: Can an accountancy practice borrow from Credicorp?, How do we fund a large new contract?, Funding a shop fit-out or refurbishment.