Downpatrick, Newcastle and Castlewellan Agri-Advisor Gary Murray has been appointed by the First Trust Bank to be part of a new Province-wide team to deliver specialist support to local farmers and agri-businesses.
First Trust Bank recently announced details of a new support package including a range of funding initiatives designed to assist progressive farmers and agri-businesses across Northern Ireland to expand and modernise their operations.
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Gary Murray, First Trust Bank Agri Adviser for Downpatrick, Newcastle and Castlewellan.[/caption]
The programme of support will be delivered through a new team of 16 AgriFood specialists based throughout the Bank’s branch network including an advisor based in the Downpatrick, Newcastle and Castlewellan area. Each of the team have been chosen because of their close working knowledge and appreciation of the unique needs of agricultural and AgriFood customers. In the case of the Downpatrick, Newcastle and Castlewellan area, the advisor is Gary Murray and he has amassed years of experience of working with a wide range of farmers and AgriFood businesses across the Province
The overall initiative includes an initial £50m AgriFood Fund to support investment in farm/agri-business growth, diversification, modernisation or refurbishment, with the competitive package offering no arrangement fees, an attractive level of margin discount and flexible repayment structures. Also launched today is a new AgriFood Energy Efficiency Loan – specifically targeting farms and agri-businesses who introduce energy efficiency measures such as lighting, solar/PV, wind, biomass and hydro projects into their overall operations. The suite of offerings unveiled also introduced a new Young Farmer Package offering three years fee free transactional banking for farmers aged between 18 and 45 years as well as an attractive Farmer Credit Line to support seasonal working capital requirements alongside normal current accounts.
Speaking about the programme of initiatives, Gary Murray, Agri-Advisor, Downpatrick, Newcastle and Castlewellan Area, First Trust Bank said:
“The importance of the the AgriFood sector to our overall economy is well known. The recent AgriFood Strategy Board ‘Going for Growth’ strategy highlights the significance of securing and enhancing the food supply chain here to allow us to take full advantage of increasingly global opportunities in food supply.
“At First Trust Bank we are very familiar with the importance of the farming community as the primary producers in that food chain and want to support those progressive farmers who wish to develop and modernise their operations to take advantage of this massive opportunity. We also appreciate the important interplay between primary producers and other agri-businesses and have ensured our loan products and services are also available to the wider AgriFood market so that all parts of that important equation can benefit.
“We are also very proud that, having listened to our AgriFood customers, we are able to deliver a specific energy efficiency loan product with them in mind. Customers across Northern Ireland including some in the Downpatrick, Newcastle and Castlewellan area told us about the increasing challenge of rising energy costs within the sector and already we are seeing some customers reap the benefit of this type of investment.
“When taken together, we believe we have put together a range of competitive, innovative and attractive products and services which should aid those more progressive farmers and other AgriFood businesses in the Downpatrick, Newcastle and Castlewellan area to realise their growth ambitions. At the same time, we have invested in the skills of our specialist team and I believe that myself and my colleagues are very well placed to assist progressive farmers and other AgriFood business owners in the local area to devise and deliver their growth plans in the years ahead,” added Gary Murray.
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