Dec 18, 2019

Share Agriculture financing business Agrifunder, which provides working capital relief to farmers, has closed a $60 million funding round backed by Japanese bank Nomura. Agrifunder provides livestock financing. Alex Ellinghausen It is understood  family office Tozer and Co raised the $60 million through debt plus warrants with Nomura which Tozer invested in Agrifunder, in return for a strategic stake in the business. Nomura will also hold a minority equity stake, sources said. The money will be used to scale up Agrifunder's core product: livestock finishing finance. This works by Agrifunder approving and financing a farmer's purchase of livestock, be it sheep or cattle. Advertisement The company then owns that livestock but the farmer manages its growth and performance and organises its sale when the time comes. Agrifunder receives the proceeds from the sale and pays itself the margin made from the balance of the sale minus funding costs, the farmer receives the remainder. The company provides credit between $200,000 and $2 million for this product, with a maximum placement term of up to 12 months. Agrifunder has serviced customers in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. For Tozer and Co, it is an investment in drought thematics. The theory goes that when the drought gripping Australia breaks, Agrifunder will be well placed to finance farmers to help them ramp up their production. Tozer and Co is a family office – run by brothers David and Craig – that has investments in the likes of freelance work marketplace Expert360 and water treatment company Hydroshield, among other interests. Get a first look at tomorrow's headlines Sign up to the Street Talk First Look newsletter