Serving the Farming Industry across the Midlands for 35 Years
Law firm Roythornes Solicitors has supported long standing client Frontier Agriculture during two complex deals.

Law firm Roythornes Solicitors has supported long standing client Frontier Agriculture during two complex deals.

Roythornes set up the legal documentation for the multi-million-pound Navara oat milling project – a joint venture between Frontier Agriculture, Camgrain and Anglia Maltings Holdings – to deliver Europe’s largest oat milling factory in Northamptonshire.

The second deal was delivering the acquisition of YAGRO, a provider of data analytics for the UK agricultural industry. Roythornes advised Frontier on the acquisition, leading the complex due diligence and contract documentation

Roythornes partner Julia Seary led the team working on the Navara oat milling deal. She said: “We were responsible for co-ordinating and project managing the joint venture legal work… and the banking, corporate shareholder, and construction contracts.

“This was a significant, multi-faceted deal that we took the lead on while acting on behalf of Frontier. We worked closely with the other two firms’ legal representation to ensure all parties were aligned and the joint venture was completed without a hitch.”

In total, seven team members across three different departments worked on the project at any one time for six months. Ms Seary said: “We’re delighted to see the deal completed and works beginning on site in Northamptonshire for this cutting-edge facility.”

Roythornes partner Mike Matthews, who heads up the firm’s mergers and acquisitions team, led the YAGRO acquisition. He said: “It was an exciting project to be involved in with Frontier, and a great outcome for both buyer and the sellers.”

YAGRO will be a standalone independent subsidiary of the Frontier Group. It has built a reputation for the nimble design and deployment of practical software solutions for farmers, advisers and the food supply chain.

Mr Matthews said: “Agricultural technology is an interesting space to be working in – and one in which we are seeing lots of activity, so this is a really exciting deal and I look forward to seeing what YAGRO do next with Frontier now behind them.”

‘Great service’

Frontier Agriculture financial director Diana MacDuff said she was impressed with the calibre of the Roythornes team – which meant that the company received prompt service and expert advice when it was needed.

“The team understand our approach to transactions very well and are very responsive to our needs, particularly at the end of the transaction when there are a lot of documents to be reviewed and turned around.”

Strong relationship

The two deals was supported by a number of other team members. Ms Seary led the corporate and commercial work, Martin Jinks led the construction contracts, Edd Johnson ledi the property work, and Mr Matthews led the acquisition.

Roythornes strives to build longstanding relationships with its clients. It has worked with Frontier as a crop production and grain marketing business since 2017.

It adopts a ‘one team’ ethos across all five of it offices, with advice given by a team of recognised experts nationally. Other clients include major blue-chip companies, family businesses, and private individuals – both in the UK and overseas.