The intersection of different technology sectors with agriculture piqued the interest of Jodi Bartin, CEO of Citicourt & Co Limited, to the extent that the financial advisory firm has become involved in the Agri-TechE ecosystem and has recently joined as a member.
Jodi is chairing the Focus on Agri-Finance event on 18th May 2022.
Current trends
Jodi talks about the current trends in investment.
“Our background is in finance for technology, particularly in space-tech and complex areas such as cyber security and deep-tech. It was while working with Dominic Keen of the Britbots EIS Fund that we saw the huge appetite for robotics, automation and AI coming from agriculture.
“Similarly, we have seen during our deals in space-tech – particularly in Earth observation – how satellite imaging and positioning is being adopted on-farm to great effect.
“My colleague John Ballard runs an estate in Norfolk, and he suggested that we get more involved in Agri-TechE, so I am delighted to be chairing the ‘Focus on Funding’ event.”
Companies then realise they have other options
“We mostly work with institutional investors, so for funding we are looking at companies over £5m, however I am happy to advise companies of all sizes and help point them in the right direction.
“Companies we work with are typically looking to raise funds for growth, sell a business or buy another firm. We help to finance companies through raising equity or debt financing and provide full end to end management of merger and acquisition processes We generally start off by having a look at the company’s aspirations and business plan and give the owners some guidance; it is not unusual for someone to come in thinking they want to do one thing – to sell up, for example – and then realise they have other options after they have spoken to us.
Relevant strategic expertise
“Angels and other investors looking at early-stage companies usually prefer to work directly with the entrepreneurs, but we do also bring angels and family offices into our deals, so we have a good network of investors with relevant strategic expertise and interest in agri-tech, so that they bring more than just cash to our clients.
“This finance is also coming from overseas, with family offices in the Middle East showing interest in UK agriculture, particularly where there is something tangible to see.
“We work with a pan-European accelerator for space-technologies and the Earth observation sector is growing rapidly, particularly in low Earth orbit satellites, where the costs have fallen recently. This is where we are seeing some of the most exciting technologies emerging from start-ups such as Constellr and Agricolus.
Great potential for satellite enabled agri-tech
“I see great potential, particularly in automation and Earth observation, for improving knowledge flow and increasing efficiencies
“Farmers are already using satellite-enabled technologies, so bringing these space-tech entrepreneurs together with those with a domain knowledge of the challenges of agri-food production creates a real opportunity for Agri-Tech.”
‘Focus on Agri-Finance’ will take place online on 18th May 2022. For more information and to book your place visit the event page.