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At NZAB, we have spent nearly a decade working on how to give New Zealand farmers greater confidence and control over their financial future.
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That work has always started from a simple belief: good farmers should not be held back by capital structures that do not properly reflect their strategy, their business, or the realities of farming. Increasingly, we have seen situations where the people are capable, the plan makes sense, and the opportunity is clear, but the available capital does not quite fit. This is one of the reasons why NZAB exists. It is also one of the reasons why Sir Bill English has decided to join us as a shareholder and Director. Most of us know Sir Bill from his years in Parliament, including his time as Finance Minister through the Global Financial Crisis and later as Prime Minister. We know he grew up on the family sheep and cropping farm at Dipton in Southland and remains closely connected to the primary sector. His current governance portfolio spans some of New Zealand and Australia's most successful organisations. He sits on the Boards of Wesfarmers (the owner of Bunnings Warehouse, Kmart among many others) and the Todd Corporation. He also Chairs Mount Cook Alpine Salmon and Airwallex, and is involved with organisations such as ImpactLab that focus on achieving measurable outcomes through disciplined investment and decision-making. Alongside these governance roles, Sir Bill runs his own investment office, with interests across farming, food production, technology, health, infrastructure and businesses that apply capital and discipline to solving practical problems. Looking across those organisations, there is a consistent theme. Sir Bill tends to be attracted to businesses and organisations that solve practical problems, creates real value, and improves outcomes for the people they serve. That is what attracted him to NZAB. |
“New Zealand farmers are some of the most highly capable in the world, but also the most capital constrained. The Banking sector can’t solve this by itself, and new ways of thinking are required. NZAB understands this at a practical level and is focused on matching good strategy with the right capital. That is why I have backed it.”
When Sir Bill first began looking closely at NZAB, we walked him through the same conversation we have with our clients, and it resonated straight away.
We started NZAB nearly a decade ago on a simple idea, farmers are more confident when they have control of their capital. For most of that time, our work has focused on helping farmers understand their position clearly, articulate their strategy well, and engage confidently with their bank.
That remains the foundation of NZAB. Strategy comes first. Advice comes second.
Over time, however, it became clear that advice alone is not always enough. Credit settings have tightened. The banking market has become increasingly concentrated. At the same time, farming businesses are dealing with more complex decisions around succession, growth, environmental investment, development opportunities, asset restructuring and long-term resilience.
Increasingly, we were seeing situations where a strategy made complete sense, but the available capital did not align with it.
So we started NZAB Capital.
NZAB Capital is a specialist non-bank lender designed to complement the banking system rather than compete with it. It exists to support situations where timing, structure, risk appetite or complexity mean a bank cannot currently support a farmer's strategy in full. Importantly, the objective is often for that capital to be transitional, allowing the strategy to be executed before the business returns to traditional bank funding.
Macquarie Bank's support of the platform has demonstrated that global capital providers recognise the opportunity within New Zealand agriculture and the quality of the farmers operating within it. The ambition has never been to replace the banks. It has been to broaden the options available to good farmers with good strategies.
“Non-bank capital, done properly, should strengthen the wider financial system rather than compete with it. Farmers benefit when they have access to more than one solution, particularly when those solutions understand the realities of farming.”
Ultimately, this is not about creating another source of capital to compete with the status quo. It is about enabling farmers make better decisions.
When strategy and capital are aligned, farmers can focus on what matters most; running their business well, managing through commodity and seasonal cycles, investing where it makes sense, and making decisions with confidence. When they are not aligned, too much energy is spent working around capital constraints rather than executing the plan.
For most farmers, the answer is better advice and a stronger banking conversation. For others, it may involve alternative capital for a defined period of time. The solution will differ by business, but the principle should not: strategy comes first, and capital should support strategy, not determine it.
Sir Bill is an important part of that journey for NZAB. With greater access to capital comes a greater responsibility to manage our own business well. We know how to support businesses through the cycle, and we now have capital that can do the same. This is the part Sir Bill understands very clearly, and his experience and advice for us will continue to enable us to execute for our farmers.
“The most successful farming businesses are usually clear about where they are heading. The challenge is making sure they have the right support, advice and capital around them to get there. NZAB is helping farmers close that gap.”
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NZAB, 335 Lincoln Road, Addington, Christchurch, New Zealand 8024, 0800 NZAB 12
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