Farmers harvest insight into grain storage thanks to Clydesdale Bank

22nd May 2014

Dozens of East Anglian farmers and agricultural professionals received a unique insight into one of the UK’s leading grain storage facilities thanks to Clydesdale Bank.

The event, at Camgrain’s Advanced Processing Centre (APC) in Cambridge, included a presentation from Camgrain, a tour of the facility and a networking buffet. The session, which took place on Wednesday 14th May, was organised by Clydesdale Bank as part of its Business Week.

Camgrain is the UK’s largest farmer-owned central storage co-operative, established in 1983. Its Cambridge APC specialises in clean wheat for the breakfast cereal industry. It also supplies all of the wheat used in Sainsbury’s in-store bakeries across the UK.

About 40 local farming business representatives and agricultural professionals attended the Camgrain event.

Richard Chapman, Head of Clydesdale Bank’s Business and Private Banking Centre in Bury St Edmunds, said:

“Agriculture is a key sector for Clydesdale Bank, and we’re committed to supporting the industry and the professionals who service it.

“Our Camgrain tour is a great example of how we aim to offer added value to our colleagues in agriculture by providing market insight and bringing businesses within the sector together to create networking opportunities.

“We’d like to thank everyone who came to event and to Camgrain itself for making us so welcome.”

The event was staged as part of Clydesdale Bank’s Business Week, held from May 12-16.

Business Week has seen more than 250 customer-focused events staged at the Bank’s UK-wide network of Business and Private Banking Centres, including several in Bury St Edmunds. Among the events staged locally were a Funding for Growth presentation exploring Invoice Finance, Asset Finance, and International Finance options, a Be A Banker event putting the client in the shoes of a Bank Manager, followed by a series of lunches/dinners and attendance of a charity bowling event.

Across the UK, businesses were invited to meet with some of the UK’s leading financial experts to discuss their most pressing commercial issues such as; planning and securing finance for growth, improving profitability and succession planning.

Research commissioned by Clydesdale Bank as part of Business Week suggested that South East small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are ready to invest nearly £16bn of their own turnover* into the local economy over the next 12 months.

*Source: Dept BIS.  Annual SME total turnover £227bn