Velcourt machinery up for auction after major restructure

Farm management business Velcourt is set to sell off a sizeable share of its arable machinery as part of a strategic restructure of its farming operations.

Velcourt confirmed plans last autumn to reduce its existing contracting operations by roughly 20%, after several challenging years for the arable sector.

The firm has served notice on a number of contract farming agreements across the Cotswolds, the Midlands and East Anglia.

See also: How tight margins on farm are hitting agricultural machinery sales

Nick Shorter, chief executive of the Velcourt Group, said: “We undertook a strategic review across the business and identified the need to release capital from machinery in order to reinvest for the future.

“Changes to farm support mechanisms, alongside inflationary pressures, have altered the risk profile of some of our contracting and combinable crop agreements.”

East Anglia-based auctioneer Cheffins is set to oversee two online dispersal sales.

The first will take place between 4 June and 18 June featuring cultivation equipment, and a second sale is scheduled between 10 and 24 September focusing on harvest and application machinery.

Machinery lots will be listed across five main sites in Cirencester, Oxfordshire, Lincolnshire, Nuneaton and North Yorkshire.

Mr Shorter added: “This restructure allows us to reposition the business, reinvesting in areas where we see stronger long-term growth.

“While we will be ceasing operations on about 6,500ha following harvest, we have taken on a further 4,500ha.

“These new operations see different business models and focuses, and we will be looking to maximise these opportunities and use the proceeds of these two auctions to refocus on other parts of our business.”

Listings 

The machinery listings include a number of drills, cultivators, Cambridge rolls, telehandlers and fertiliser spreaders.

Charles Wadsley, director at Cheffins, said: “This machinery comes from one of the most well-regarded businesses in farming.

“This is big-scale kit that’s been out doing the job. It comes from the centre of a professional farming operation where reliability and maintenance are a significant part of day-to-day farming.

“There’s no room in a business like this for substandard equipment and that really shows in the way the machinery has been presented. It’s a credit to the teams on farm.”