Tillväxtbolaget enables investments and ownership transitions worth billions for the Swedish agriculture
Given the challenges of recent years, the conditions for investments in agricultural companies have become significantly more difficult. But Tillväxtbolaget, in which Lantmännen is a part-owner, is now presenting figures for 2023 that show a brighter picture – through Tillväxtbolaget's top loans, 82 agricultural companies have been granted investments of SEK 2.2 billion and the age of the recipients breaks the general trend.
Volatile prices for input goods, rising interest rates for companies with a lot of tied-up capital, component shortages and last year, unfavorable weather with a weak harvest outcome as a result. In a short period of time, the investment climate for agricultural companies has become tougher. But even when looking long-term, there are trends such as arable land decreasing by one (1) hectare per hour since 2010 and that ownership transitions are becoming increasingly difficult to achieve as agricultural companies grow in size.
“In recent years, this development has made it difficult for many agricultural companies to obtain investment loans for several reasons. For instance, there is a general shortage of agricultural expertise in banks and advisory services, investment costs versus returns, especially in a high interest rate environment, a volatile market and lack of a long-term political framework," says Ulf Möller, Senior Account Manager and Head of Credit, Tillväxtbolaget.
"It's an exciting time to work with these issues. On the one hand, one gets perplexed by the scope of the challenges that individual entrepreneurs are facing, and on the other hand, it is fantastic to be part of the solution and enable investments on this scale," says Helena Silvander, CEO of Tillväxtbolaget.
Tillväxtbolaget attracts many younger farmers and thus, breaks the negative trend of diffult ownership transitions, which has long been a problem for Swedish agriculture.
"It is gratifying that we can grant loans to younger owners, but we are far from finished with that work and in order to future-proof such an important industry, we need to inject more venture capital. The gratifying thing about this process is that we can show that our model works and that it has so many upsides to it," concludes Helena Silvander.
Tillväxtbolagets loans has led to underlying investments of SEK 2.2 billion. These investments go mainly to productivity initiatives but also to areas such as local energy production. Together, these have also created more than 400 jobs across the country.
In addition to Lantmännen, the following are the partners:
LRF, HKSCAN, VÄXA Sverige & Svensk Mjölk.
For more information, please contact:
Ulf Möller, Account Manager and Head of Credit, Tillväxtbolaget
E-mail: ulf.moller@lantmannen.com
Wilhelm Conradsson, Account Manager and Deputy CEO, Tillväxtbolaget
E-mail: wilhelm.conradsson@lantmannen.com
Helena Silvander, CEO, Tillväxtbolaget
Email: helena.silvander@lantmannen.com
Lantmännen's Press Service
Tel: 010 556 88 00
E-mail: press@lantmannen.com
About Lantmännen
Lantmännen is an agricultural cooperative and Northern Europe’s leader in agriculture, machinery, bioenergy and food products. Owned by 18,000 Swedish farmers, we have 10,000 employees, operations in over 20 countries and an annual turnover of SEK 65 billion. With grain at the heart of our operations, we refine arable land resources to make farming thrive. Some of our best-known food brands are AXA, Bonjour, Kungsörnen, GoGreen, Gooh, FINN CRISP, Schulstad and Vaasan. Our company is founded on the knowledge and values acquired through generations of farmers. With research, development and operations throughout the value chain, together we take responsibility from field to fork. For more information: www.lantmannen.com
