In farming, whether a deal or a project succeeds doesn't depend only on the owner's determination. It depends on how solid the financing is. A buyer without structured financing means a sale that falls through. A viable project isn't necessarily a bankable one. And for everyone involved in these deals, that means lost time and abandoned projects.
Agricourtage offers an advisory and financial structuring service designed to secure projects upstream. Our analytical capability — assessing the project's financial feasibility, diagnosing its bankability, structuring the package — is available to every partner with a direct interest in seeing deals and projects go ahead. We are the specialist finance contact your value chain was missing.
A service designed for professionals in the farming world
Agricourtage doesn't only work directly with farmers. We also act as an expert partner to every professional whose business depends on farming projects actually happening:
-
Notaries: securing the financing before the preliminary sale agreement (compromis) is signed, reducing delays and the risk of withdrawal
-
Funders (land companies, land lease-to-buy operators, banks, etc.): we optimise the projects you receive
-
Rural and farmland estate agents: financial qualification of potential buyers, faster transactions
-
Farm cooperatives and merchants: financial support for members with development or set-up projects
-
Farm management advisers (CER, CERFRANCE): banking expertise to complement the accounting analysis
-
Chambers of Agriculture and set-up support bodies: stronger support for new entrants at the financing stage
For each of these partners, our work adds direct value: fewer failed projects, shorter timelines, and clients better prepared to face the banks.
Our analytical capability: what we bring in practice
Financial feasibility analysis
Before approaching any bank, we carry out an in-depth analysis of the project's financial feasibility. This includes reviewing the existing farm's accounts (or the business forecast for a new set-up), testing the projected EBITDA (EBE) assumptions, modelling repayment capacity and identifying the project's economic risks. This analysis is documented and can be shared with the partners concerned.
Bankability diagnosis
A file's bankability is its ability to convince a lender to grant financing on reasonable terms. Our bankability diagnosis assesses the file against the same criteria as agricultural credit committees: debt ratios, equity, quality of security, strength of the project, borrower profile. We identify the strengths to highlight and the weaknesses to fix before any bank presentation.
Structuring the financing package
A good financing package is the optimal combination of several funding sources — bank loans, grants, leasing, equity, land lease-to-buy, crowdfunding — that maximises the chances of approval while minimising the overall cost and the pressure on cash flow. Agricourtage designs these packages to measure, taking into account each project owner's tax, personal-wealth and professional situation.
Valuing farm assets
The value of a farm asset — land, buildings, livestock, equipment, production rights — directly determines the security available for financing. Our sector expertise lets us value these assets realistically and with supporting evidence, in line with bank standards and local markets.
Why work with Agricourtage rather than going straight to a bank?
A bank defends its own interests and its own products. Agricourtage defends the project. As an independent broker, we have no product to sell and no institution to favour. Our only goal is for the project to succeed on the best possible terms.
For a partner — notary, estate agent, cooperative — this means having a specialist, independent finance contact who pulls in the same direction as you: getting the deal or project done.
Our fees are transparent. Our brokerage commission depends solely on the financing actually obtained: no financing, no commission. Advisory engagements are charged at a fixed fee agreed in advance. Our interests are fully aligned with those of our partners.