Grosvenor Food & AgTech’s Post

Our portfolio company Oxbury Bank Plc - the leading agricultural bank and software provider that is enabling British farmers to manage their finances more efficiently and effectively, helping them to become more productive and sustainable - has reported its financial results for 2023, achieving annual profitability for the first time with over £3 million of pre-tax profit. We helped finance the launch of Oxbury Bank, the UK’s first dedicated agricultural bank in nearly 100 years, in 2021. Achieving profitability in less than three years since opening for lending makes it one of the UK’s fastest ever fintechs to reach full annual profitability. In addition, Oxbury Bank celebrated the first anniversary of its industry-leading New Gen initiative for young farmers, providing up to 100% funding and business consultancy for new entrant farmers aged between 18 and 40 years. So far, New Gen has helped establish and grow 50 new farms, lending the funds that are key to their ambitions. #fintech #agtech #agriculturalbank #farmfinance #sustainablefarming #ukagriculture #britishfarming

We're excited to continue our partnership with meati™, leading a $100m C-1 investment round and supporting its mission to make MushroomRoot™ a global food staple. Katrin Burt, Managing Partner, Grosvenor Food & AgTech, has joined Meati Foods as a new board member and the business has also announced it is expanding into 2,000 Kroger stores. Meati Foods harnesses nutrient-rich mushroom root (mycelium), which is naturally high in protein and fibre, to produce a sustainable, whole-cut, alternative to meat. Through our investment in Meati Foods, we’re helping to grow a high-quality complete protein, using a fraction of the land and water compared to animal protein production and requiring fewer resources than other meat alternatives on the market today. Katrin Burt Anthony James Stephan Dolezalek #agtech #sustainablefoodproduction #meatalternatives #foodtech

We are delighted that our portfolio company Ostara’s Crystal Green Pearl product is now registered for use in certified organic farming in both Austria and the Netherlands. Crystal Green Pearl is a granular fertilizer produced by recovering nutrients from wastewater. Its use prevents excess, water-soluble nutrients from entering global water systems and is the only sustainable crop nutrition source that is entirely free from animal by products and aligned with the standards of modern organic agriculture. The provision of Ostara’s high-quality organic fertiliser, together with its proven environmental benefits, is exceptionally well timed as the European Union’s Farm to Fork Strategy has set a target for 25% of agricultural land to be farmed organically by 2030. At the same time, EU member states are introducing tighter restrictions on the application of animal manure onto fields, creating a strong demand for a sustainable alternative.

We are delighted that our portfolio company Vestaron Corporation’s novel bioinsecticide SPEAR® LEP has been authorised for farmer use by the Italian Ministry of Health to help tackle devastating infestations of tomato leafminer (Tuta absoluta) — a pest causing significant and costly yield losses in Europe. Made from peptides – naturally occurring proteins – the product delivers a selective and effective biological control of pests and unlike traditional synthetic products, it does not affect bees and pollinators, degrading into amino acids which are harmless to the environment, fish, and mammals, helping to reduce pollution.

Earth Day's focus this year is tackling the pervasive use of plastics. Katrin Burt, Managing Partner at Grosvenor Food & AgTech, speaks to Peter Wells, CEO of TemperPack - one of our portfolio companies - about packaging insulation alternatives to plastics and polystyrene.    Explaining the positive environmental impact that more sustainable packaging brings, Peter discusses the company's growth prospects in supplying the food and life sciences industries. #earthday #climateaction #climatechange #plasticalternatives

Anthony James, Managing Partner at Grosvenor Food & AgTech, took the opportunity to interview Kerryann Kocher, the CEO of Vytelle, one of our portfolio companies. Kerryann explained how the business is helping farmers drive a more sustainable production of meat and milk, balancing a growing global demand for protein, reducing the industry’s impact on the planet – especially in relation to greenhouse gas emissions, and doing so in a way that enables producers to be profitable. Grosvenor first invested in Vytelle in 2018 and has continued to support the business throughout its growth. Find out more about how Vytelle is scaling up its operation and its future ambitions.

Towards the end of 2023, our portfolio company Oxbury Bank Plc celebrated the first anniversary of its New Gen lending programme which encourages new entrants into the industry by removing major barriers such as access to finance for everything from purchasing land to livestock as well as providing expert farm business advice. Access to finance is cited as one of the biggest barriers for young people wanting to start a farming business and, with the average age of a British farmer at 59, Oxbury’s bespoke scheme is focused on ensuring the next generation are given the opportunity to secure the future of UK farming. In its first full year, Oxbury has supported 26 young people through the New Gen programme with a further 150 applications being considered. Successful applications have come from all areas of the UK and funded a range of projects from grazing land, additional breeding ewes, the expansion of a sustainable organic lavender farm as well as purchasing farm tenancies. Through our investment in Oxbury Bank, this is just one of the ways in which we are delivering on our commitment to enable the economic sustainability of farming and food production. #fintech #agritech #neobanks #neobanking #ukagriculture #ukfarming

We have appointed Stefano Rettore as a Non-Executive Director to our Grosvenor Food & AgTech board and look forward to the benefits of his deep industry knowledge and experience as we continue to diversify and grow our business. Stefano sits on the boards of several leading global companies and is the founder of LemanVentures, a privately owned investment firm. He is active in leveraging his international experience in the food and agtech sector, enabling the transition of the food industry through a focus on sustainability, technology adoption, and changing consumer trends.   Among his Non-Executive roles, Stefano is currently Non-Executive Director of Deoleo, the world's leading olive oil company listed in Madrid (BME: OLE), and Board Member of Ameropa, the preeminent agribusiness in the global fertilizers supply-chain. Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/ePwTwRD2