Agricultural Property Finance - Understanding the Lender’s Requirements

Introduction

This virtual classroom seminar provides a review of the property finance/banking aspects of agricultural property work.

It is a practical guide for agricultural lawyers covering how to act for a lender on both purchases and refinances and also where you are acting for both the client and the lender or just the lender.

The session will include a mix of legal aspects (the different types of security documents and what is required when lending to different legal entities) and practical guidance (what points the lender is really concerned about and how best to resolve issues and report to the lender).

The knowledge gained from this session will help you understand both the reasons for the lender’s requirements and how to deal with them efficiently on a variety of different transactions.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive session will cover the following:

• The different legal entities who could be the borrower/mortgagor and the different types of security documents that each can enter into (and what powers they give the lender):
• Sole traders
• Partnerships
• LLPs
• Companies
• Trusts (including pension funds, will trusts, settlements and Settled Land Act trusts)
• On matters where the borrower and mortgagor are different entities:
• How this affects the security documents required by the lender
• Whether the occupation needs to be formally documented
• The need to protect the lender’s position, including specific points about:
• Ensuring trust deeds contain a specific power to borrow/grant mortgages
• The need for commercial benefit when a company grants a guarantee
• Section 190 transfers (between directors and their company), which require specific shareholder approvals
• Section 197 guarantees by companies which also require specific approvals
• What would happen in an enforcement situation (making sure the lender can sell and recover the outstanding debts)
• Charges of part (and the need to grant/reserve rights in the mortgage deed)
• The importance of a formal partnership agreement from the lender’s perspective
• Exception-style reporting for lenders and the need to ‘cover’ off issues rather than just highlight them

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.