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How UK agriculture is financing its own future
As part of our Financing for Growth 2026 report we interviewed Martin Hanson, Head of Agriculture at HSBC UK, to understand how businesses in the agriculture sector are responding to recent challenges and financing their future growth plans. While the extreme weather of 2026 brought the pressures facing British farming into sharp focus, the sector’s response offers a microcosm of broader UK business adaptability.
Faced with declining traditional subsidies, agribusinesses are undergoing a decisive transition away from state dependency in favour of self-directed capital deployment.
Martin Hanson
Head of Agriculture, HSBC
There’s definitely been a shift towards farmers and agricultural business owners trying to find their own solutions
Diversification is reducing business risk
Diversification has become an important strategy. Our Financing for Growth report, found that over half of UK businesses are pursuing a mix of proactive growth and protective risk management (53.5%) and actively expanding into new operational models (53.3%). Agribusinesses are putting this national trend into practice.
To reduce single-market risk and lower input volatility, farms are increasingly expanding into mixed farming. HSBC UK data shows that mixed farming is driving a 16% year-on-year increase in borrowing. Poultry has also emerged as a primary growth engine, with HSBC UK data showing a 12.6% rise in net borrowing to meet surging demand for eggs and broilers, alongside advanced technology adoption.
HSBC UK customer, St. Ewe Free Range Eggs, is an example of a business that’s diversified its operations – from an initial dairy herd to egg processing, and now the liquid egg market. You can read the story of how we’ve supported their growth here.
How HSBC UK supports agriculture businesses
Reflecting this broader investment appetite, total HSBC UK lending to agriculture has risen 10% year-on-year. Farmers are deploying capital for long-term commercial efficiency rather than passive survival, mirroring national trends where 33.1% of borrowing firms invest in equipment upgrades and 33.5% prioritise automation and robotics.
"Increasingly, what we're seeing is, 'I need to borrow this money. It won't affect my short-term profits, but it improves my long-term commercial sustainability,'" observes Hanson. With businesses targeting sustainability through energy efficiency (50.1%), process optimisation (45.8%), and sustainable finance (29.4%), commercial and environmental resilience are now twin imperatives.
In this complex environment, a key understanding of the market – and learning from peers – can be beneficial. "We add a lot of value by sharing what other customers have done to solve similar issues and showing what works," Hanson concludes. By combining diversification with strategic borrowing, progressive farms are setting the blueprint for long-term growth.
Find out more about HSBC’s support of the Agriculture sector, or get in touch with the Agriculture team today.
For more insights into how UK businesses are financing their future growth ambitions, read our Financing for Growth report.