Braemar plans to float £20m farmland fund

Hale-based investment manager Braemar said its Braemar UK Agricultural Land will float on the Alternative Investment Market in July.

By floating on AIM Braemar says it can raise up to £20m and a minimum of £5m. The holding company was established in December 2007 and has since raised £2.24m net of expenses, part of which has been used to purchase 310 acres of Grade 2 bare arable land in Lincolnshire which is being farmed by the company.

The company said in a statement: "The proceeds will be used to acquire additional plots of bare arable land which will be farmed to produce a range of crops suitable for use in food, animal feed or bio-fuel production. The land will be farmed by contractors rather than let to tenants, removing the risk of tenant default."

Andrew Christie-Miller is to be non-executive chairman, with Marc Duschenes as investment director and Martin Robinson as commercial director. Andrew Pearce, head of Chesterton Humberts country division, joins as non-executive director. The broker and corporate adviser to the proposed float is WH Ireland. Beachcroft LLP has been appointed as the company's lawyers, with PKF (UK) LLP as reporting accountants and Cobbetts LLP as lawyers to WH Ireland.