A farmer has told the Irish Farmers Journal that he fears losing his 140ac dairy farm in Co Louth, now that his loan is owned by Seaconview Ltd, an affiliate of so-called vulture fund Cerberus.The farmer, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I’m at the stage of my life where I want to sign over the farm to my son and his wife, who now run the farm and live in the farmhouse with their young family.
A farmer has told the Irish Farmers Journal that he fears losing his 140ac dairy farm in Co Louth, now that his loan is owned by Seaconview Ltd, an affiliate of so-called vulture fund Cerberus.
The farmer, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I’m at the stage of my life where I want to sign over the farm to my son and his wife, who now run the farm and live in the farmhouse with their young family.
“The sum of the loan was for €1.1m with Ulster Bank. We invested mainly in upgrading the milking parlour and farm facilities in 2007.
“But in 2009 the milk price dropped and it had an impact on loan repayments.”
The farm loan was part of an Ulster Bank loan portfolio sold in 2015 to Seaconview Ltd, an affiliate of the US vulture fund Cerberus.
“We’ve arranged finance with another bank, but the vulture fund and its agent don’t seem interested in engaging to restructure the debt and have left us in limbo. They’ve valued the farm at €2.5m,” the farmer said.
It is understood that loans were sold for 20% of their value, and a number of farmers have contacted the Irish Farmers Journal to report that Cerberus and their agent Link Asset Services (previously Captia Asset Services) have been inflexible in negotiating debt.
A letter from the receiver dated last year, and seen by the Irish Farmers Journal, informs the farmer: “You are not entitled to any income or revenue for the secured assets, please ensure that any rents or other payments that might be received by you are held by you and immediately notified to us.”
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