LAUNCHED by an Act of Parliament, a business is celebrating 90 years of activity.

Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (AMC), headquartered in Andover, was founded following the Agricultural Credits Act of 1928.

Set up with a deposit of £500,000, its ambition, which still stands today, is to lend money on a long-term basis to the farming industry.

Over the years the organisation has worked with land-based commercial farming businesses to support a wide range of growth and diversification initiatives – from an initial land purchase to large scale investments.

And as it marks nine decades in business, the corporation has looked back at its achievements and how the industry has changed over the years.

Managing director Andrew Naylor said: “A lot has changed in farming since AMC started out 90 years ago. Back then, loans would normally be provided to help farms acquire more land or livestock and that is still core to our support today. But we now see much more diversification in farming these days.

“What hasn’t changed is AMC’s long-term loans at a fixed rate of interest, a facility which the commercial banks did not provide back in 1928. And neither has our approach to lending – we currently lend up to 60 per cent loan to value which is largely unchanged from when AMC was first established, when it was up to 66 per cent.

“Similarly, when AMC gave out its first loans it was for a term of up to 60 years, something no other bank could match. Of course, nobody offers this length of loan term any more, but AMC continues to lead the way, offering customers funding over a 30-year period.

“AMC’s specialism in providing long-term loans with no breaks, for almost all agricultural, horticultural, equine pursuits and land based commercial businesses, has been at the heart of our customer service proposition for the last 90 years. It is this offering, coupled with the strength of customer relationships that our network of agents has with farming businesses right across the UK, that has ensured our continued success.”

Over the years procedures have changed, the agricultural fortunes have dipped and risen, but the organisation says that the basic job remains the same - know your locality, know the farming business and provide sound and correct valuation and guidance.