Rural Asset Finance Secures £120m Facility Backed by British Business Bank Guarantee

A new £120 million funding facility has been secured by Rural Asset Finance through partnerships with NatWest Bank, BCI Capital, and the British Business Bank's ENABLE Guarantee programme to support smaller rural and agricultural businesses across the UK. The British Business Bank guarantees a portion of the funding, enabling Rural Asset Finance to offer more competitive lending rates with incentives tied to sustainability performance targets, including farm renewable energy installations. This facility aims to help farmers and rural enterprises diversify and future-proof their operations with flexible financing options that combine asset finance and business loans. NatWest emphasizes that this initiative will unlock capital, reduce costs, and improve access to competitive finance for rural businesses. The program reflects a broader push to expand funding for sustainable agricultural practices and reinforce food production in the UK’s challenging geopolitical context. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, a separate financing initiative worth Rs250 million has been launched by Engro Fertilisers and Bank Alfalah to provide loans to farmers through integrated agricultural platforms, marking an important collaboration to support local farmers’ financing needs.