The reasons behind investing in this sector are compelling:

Population Growth: Worldwide population growth is running at approximately 200,000 people per day . All these extra mouths have to be fed for a lifetime. Clearly this will impact the demand side of the equation.

Rising commodity prices: Rising commodity prices are not short-term phenomena.  Except for a brief deflationary blip in 2008 after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the CRB Index of 17 essential commodities has been rising steadily all decade (see the chart below).

Rising Farmland Prices: Arable land has again become a hot commodity—despite the struggles of the broader real-estate industry. It’s attracting buyers ranging from wealthy individuals and institutional investors to farmers themselves. Many are investing in farmland funds, though some farmers are expanding operations.9This is not though a short term phenomenon. For example, over the 22 years to 2009, capital growth in Farmland in Western Australia increased by an average of between 14 and 16% per annum.

The Western Diet: Changes in diet and demand for protein from countries with growing economies such as China, Brazil and India, is one factor that has contributed to higher demand for grain through increased demand for cattle feed. The extent of this is such that in China  Lifestyle changes such as increased urbanization and sedentism and “Western” diets high in fat and junk food have caused an increase in heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other “lifestyle diseases”.

When assessing your direct, passive investment into farmland, there are a few questions you should ask yourself before you go ahead. Get them wrong and you may find what you had thought was an easy ride, becomes very bumpy indeed. Don’t forget, farming itself is a risky business. There is much that can go wrong, but mitigate the risks well, ensure you are committed for the long haul, and you may reap the rewards.

Geographical location: The pro’s and con’s of location are clearly wide ranging, but also crucial. What you should be looking out for is:  Weather patterns, look longer term, not just recently. Weather is rarely very consistent, so look over long term averages. Infrastructure, how will your product get to market? Will transportation costs impact on your returns? Is there a tried and tested long terms infrastructure in place? Political Stability, how certain are you that country you are producing in will be consistent with its approach to issues such as taxation, exporting and indeed land ownership? Things can change rapidly in less developed nations.

Product: The ability to sell what you rear or grow on your land is clearly the key to success. Food prices may be increasing over the longer term, but it does vary from product to product. It may be sensible to steer clear of any new or fashionable produce in favour of staple products, where there is stable and consistent market, and certainly you should find a commodity where you are able to track the price.

Management: Without experienced and motivation farm managers you are unlikely to succeed. Try to avoid new schemes or projects where the skills of the management team are untried. While they are gaining experience you are the one that will pay the price. Don’t forget that farming has input costs. A good manager will know when to spend your money in order to get the best returns. Also make sure they are properly motivated by sharing in the profits, rather than just being paid a set fee. This will ensure they get the best both for you and for them. Make sure you do your due diligence on the manager. Ask to see his C.V.!

Ownership/Legal system: Easily overlooked, but important. Make sure you use a solicitor that you can trust to make sure you gain proper ownership to your land. NEVER send money directly to a supplier. All direct farming investments should go through an escrow arrangement to ensure you gain the beneficial ownership of your land. Furthermore, what happens if something does go wrong? Do you really want to be fighting a legal battle in a foreign language and in a legal structure that you don’t understand?

All in all, when it comes to green investments, often personal preference overrides many other aspects, including returns. For the investor who likes to get involved, to be able to quickly see the benefits and to literally touch and feel the product, then you’ll struggle to beat installing a solar panel on your roof. However, if you are really interested in sustainable long term returns, and don’t feel the need to walk over your property on a regular basis, then agricultural investment may be the dish of the day.

The rates of return advertised for the scheme appear to be generous:

“Solar panels: a tax-free return of 10pc pa”

“Tariffs for solar panels pay eight per cent a year”

“Investment in solar energy producing panels will pay a tax-free return of six to eight per cent per annum. That is more than double the best High Street savings accounts”

“If you’ve got the money and a sunny, south-facing roof, you can earn a 7%-10% tax-free return”

The initial outlay for the solar panels is generally speaking somewhere between £7,500 and £12,500. Clearly the more panels you have installed, the more power you can produce. The returns are generated by the government FIT scheme, which will pay you 41.3p per kilowatt hour (kWh) generated. For a typical 2.1kW PV system this should provide a reward of up to £750 a year. Interestingly, this payment is made regardless of whether you use the electricity, or export it into the national grid. In addition, for exported electricity pays an additional 3p per kWh. Further benefits are that the payment is tax free, guaranteed for the next 25 years and also linked to inflation!

So, what are the drawbacks? Although the current government has guaranteed the scheme for 25 years, clearly they won’t be in power for that long, and subsequent budget changes could potentially change the tax free status. Furthermore what are the chances of the government sticking to this for such a long period? Perhaps public sector workers experiencing forced changes to their pension plans might have their own view on this.

However, the real downfall that is quietly overlooked by all parties concerned, government, suppliers and commentators alike, when looking at the real returns on this as an investment, is the wholesale disregard for any capital write down with the investment.

One recent national newspaper article claims:

“It costs £12,500 to install solar cells on your roof, but new tariffs should give you a return of at least £25,000. So what’s the catch? There isn’t one” and “If the government offered to pay you £1,000 a year for the next 25 years, in return for an up-front investment of £12,500, you’d snap it up in a second”

This is very naive. Solar panels last 20 to 30 years. After this period they are perhaps likely to be worth nothing at all. So your original investment is lost forever. On the figure above, paying £12,500 up front in exchange for £1000 a year for 25 years is equivalent to putting your money in the bank at an interest rate of 2.8% per year and letting the interest accrue for the period, so after 25 years you have £25,000 in the bank.

So realistically, that is your net return, circa 3% (though with inflation guarantees, it might be a little more). Clearly then, installing solar panels is reserved for those doing it for ethical reasons, rather than also looking for a great investment return.

THE GLOBAL PROPERTY SUPPORT NETWORK PLC

(the “Company”)

MISREPRESENTATIONS BY 3^RD PARTIES TO SHAREHOLDERS

The Directors would like to advise that it has come to their attention that certain of its shareholders have received emails and correspondence from 3^rd parties making erroneous claims and misrepresentations as to transactions involving the Company’s ordinary shares in which shareholder details have been requested.

The Directors should like to advise that any suspicious emails should be reported to the Company and no action should be taken by any shareholder in relation to any transaction that has not been formally announced on PLUS.

The directors of The Global Property Support Network plc accept responsibility for this announcement.

- ends –

Contacts:

Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) Demand for wheat from Australia, the fourth-biggest shipper, is strong, said exporter AWB, as buyers from Europe to the Philippines battle for supplies amid prices near their highest level in more than two years.

Importers are seeking milling wheat for bread and a lower-grade feed variety used to fatten livestock, said Mitch Morison, general manager commodities at Melbourne-based AWB today.  Buyers are using feed wheat as an alternative to corn, he said.

Governments from Beijing to Belgrade are raising imports, limiting exports or releasing supply from state stockpiles to curb food inflation.  Countries probably spent at least $1 trillion on food imports last year, with the poorest paying as much as 20 percent more than in 2009, the United Nations says.  Corn soared 88 percent in the past 12 months and wheat 76 percent as drought in Russia and floods in Canada ruined crops.

“High corn values are encouraging feed grain customers to focus” on Australian Wheat, Morison said.  Agrium Inc., based in Calgary, bought AWB last year and said in December it would sell the commodity management business to Cargill Inc.

Prices of feed barley are strong too as supplies run low in Europe, the AWB said.  Saudi Arabia, the largest importer, is making enquiries, “which is supporting our market because Australia represents the only significant supply prior to the northern hemisphere new crop,” Morison said.

The American author Mark Twain said, “Buy land, they’re not making it anymore”.

More that a century after his famous quote, an increasing number of investors in the United States seem to be following his advice.  Investment managers in the US report rising interest from pension schemes and retail investors in funds that buy and run farmland in developed countries.  Investors are looking for a better rate of return than that available from bank accounts, bonds and an uncertain stock market.

“People have seen that the farmland asset class has performed very well, especially during the 2008 volatile period,” says Jeff Conrad, chief executive of Hancock Agricultural Investment Group based in Boston in the US.  ”There’s just more interest from institutions to buy farmland and add it to their portfolio.”  Mr Conrad’s investment firm owns land in the US, Canada and Australia and grows a variety of crops including corn, peanuts and apples.  Its fund has returned 13% in the three years to the end of 2009, compared with a 5% loss an investor would have made on S&P 500 index of leading US Companies.

‘Regulation required’

But not everyone agree with investing in agricultural land.  Critics of the practice say it contributes to rising food costs, artificially pushes up the price of land and so adversely affects rural communities.  ”There should definitely be regulation on who owns farmland,” says Professor John Peck, who runs an organisation called Family Farm Defenders, which campaigns for more small, family-owned farms in the US.  ”We should not have hedge fund managers dictating farmland prices in the US.”

Food Crisis

The value of agricultural land in the US has doubled over the past decade to $2,140 (£1,350) an acre, according to the US Department of Agriculture.  The price of food has also been rising because of an increasing global population and growing demand for higher value products, such as meat, from a growing middle class in developing Asia.

Professor Peck says people “speculating’ by buying farmland are exacerbating this trend.  ”We cannot have another food crisis,” he says.  ”This farmland land rush that’s going on is the second wave food crisis waiting to happen.”  Mr Conrad says that in theory it should have the opposite effect.  ”We are bringing capital and technology to the sector;” he says.  ”This will allow farming to become more efficient, produce grater supply and lead to lower food prices.”

Rural Development

The United Nations has been examining the practice of selling farmland to investors. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier De Schutter, says it raises a serious question for rich nations.

“It can be very tempting to sell off the land for a very good price, but it all depends on which kind of future we want for agriculture,” he says.  ”Do we want this to be only large scale plantations dominated by very large corporations, or do we want to preserve the function of small farms in contributing to rural development?”

100% Finance opportunity just 30km south of Lisbon, Portugal.

This is not an ‘off-plan’ property project but a completed apart-hotel development that is likely to have opened its doors to the General Public ahead of Christmas 2010.  Prices start from £169,000.

Set in the picturesque fishing village of Sesimbra, on the Costa Azul of Souther Portugal.  This development has been built on3 levels into a hillside that overlooks one of the most stunning bays.  The architect has developed the buildings so the rooftops consist of wide green space that provide unrivalled views and each apartment has stunning unobstructed views of Sesimbra bay.

These luxurious suites are furnished and finished to highest standards, with on site facilities of adult and child swimming pools, 400m2 luxury spa, club house and bar, restaurant and childcare.  As an owner you will be entitled to enjoy the facilities yourself with up to 56 days of personal usage (this does not apply for purchases made via a SIPP).  As well as being just down the road from Lisbon, the resort is within easy reach of 10 golf course.

The developments location and features are enticing but the current financial package available is more attractive as the sun setting over the Atlantic Ocean.

The Finance option currently available to those who get involved now is:

• 100% mortgages (subject to status, the banks offer 90% LTV)
• Instant equity – approximately 10% of the current bank valuation
• Developer will pay all closing costs, which equate to approximately 10% of the property value
• Properties are fully furnished with no additional furniture package cost
• 2% cash back which goes towards the 1st years mortgage
• 3 year Interest only mortgage current rate circa 2.65%
• Projected rental returns of between 5-7% per annum

What deposit is required?

No deposit is required.  Clients are required to pay a 1% commitment fee (fully refundable should Banif Bank not offer you a mortgage), chose an apartment and apply for a mortgage.  Banif Banks current lending criteria suggests that  applicants who can demonstrate a gross income to liabilities ratio of around 70:30 will be successful.

For more information on this fantastic opportunity please either request a call back or send an email to info@thegpsnetwork.co.uk

Sesimbra Bay Beach Resort

The resort will be fully managed by Kasamia who will advertise and deliver a 5* quality service.   You will receive an personal usage allocation of 6 weeks, that can be returned the Management company in return for increased returns.  The rental returns, paid quarterly in arrears, will be 60% of gross Operating Profits of the resort.

It follows a Russian ban on wheat exports after much of this year’s crop was destroyed in droughts and wildfires.

In America wheat farmers have been enjoying bumper crops – however this is no guarantee that world food prices will come down.

Jeremy Cooke reports

UN calls meeting over fears of a looming food crisis (Link to BBC News article)

Source: BBC News US & Canada 23/09/10 23:13 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11402255)

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Wheat prices have hit a 22-month high after a severe drought and ensuing wildfires in Russia devastated crops.

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat for September delivery broke through the $7-a-bushel level in US trade for the first time since September 2008, before falling back to $6.93.

Prices have risen 50% since late June.

Concerns are growing that the rise will lead to an increase in prices of flour-related products such as bread and biscuits.

Gary Sharkey, head of wheat procurement at Premier Foods, which makes Hovis bread, told the Financial Times that the industry would be “unable to ignore a 50% rise in wheat prices”.

Digging into reserves

UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Abdolreza Abbassian: “I think we have hit the worst of it”

Wheat prices dropped back slightly from their highs after Russian Deputy Agriculture Minister Aleksandr Belyayev said that there was no need for Moscow to restrict its grain exports at the moment.

“[Restrictions] will not be imposed yet. The government is to decide, but the situation today does not demand this. It is very easy to reduce exports, but it is very hard to increase them,” he said.

Russia has high levels of grain in reserves and will start using those.

But Mr Belyayev said that production levels would be lower than forecast.

“We will manage to produce 70-75 million tonnes, I think,” he said.

The Ministry of Agriculture had forecast the grain crop to come in below 85 million tonnes, compared with 97 million tonnes in 2009.

Picking up the slack

Kona Haque, commodities strategist at Macquarie Bank, said that Kazakhstan and Ukraine, who have also been affected by the drought along with Russia, would see their export levels go down, but there would not be a global wheat shortage.

“The crop declines we are seeing [in the former Soviet Union] are very real, 20-25% drops in production leading to equivalent decline in exports,” she said.

“But the fact remains that there are still big exportable surpluses in other parts of the world, particularly the US, that will be able to pick up some of the slack.”

But she admitted that headlines of droughts and fires meant that it was inevitable that prices would go up in the short term.

“Particularly in south east Asia there are a lot grain purchasers who are scrambling to get hold of as much wheat as possible in case prices rise even further,” she said.

Russia’s biggest wheat markets

• Egypt
• Turkey
• Syria
• Iran
• Libya
• Jordan

Source: US Department of Agriculture

Read more at the BBC site here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10851170 (Source)

Leading the charge are U.S. and European pension funds, although it is estimated that the amount of institutional money invested is less than 1 percent of global farmland value, with concentration in food exporting regions.

A growing world population, limited water resources and finite amounts of land available have made farmland attractive to investors beyond traditional owners — private families.

U.S. pension fund TIAA-CREF has around $2 billion (1.3 billion pounds) invested in farmland of the $426 billion it has under management and is looking to expand its farmland holdings.

“If we found the right opportunities we’d be willing to double our existing exposure over the new few years,” said Jose Minaya, managing director of global private markets at the fund.

“This is just another asset class that has the potential of going the route that real estate, private equity, hedge funds did in the past,” said Minaya, estimating between $5 billion and $15 billion of institutional money is invested globally.

The way the groups invest is also changing, with some now forming partnerships to access and operate farmland.

TIAA-CREF prefers to own farmland directly rather than through funds, said Minaya. “In general the larger pension funds are moving closer to a more active versus passive investment style,” he added.

Jos Lemmens, senior portfolio manager at Netherlands-based APG, said it plans to raise its interest to around 1 billion euros.

Traditionally the fund manager — which has 220 billion euro (178 billion pound) under management — has invested in agricultural commodities via commodity futures markets, but since 2007 it has also invested in farmland.

“Part of (our) strategy is more efficient allocation to commodities, part of that strategy is to own real assets, especially land,” Lemmens said.

Netherlands healthcare pension fund PGGM, which has around 90 billion euro under management, has said it may raise its allocation of funds to farmland at the next annual review.

Pension funds are known for being risk averse and farmland is no exception, with funds focussed on food exporting countries with a stable political backdrop.

The 2007-08 food price spike, which sparked food riots in some countries and caused governments to review food security policies, has also put a spotlight on food producing assets.

Interest in foreign farmland has come from countries with limited food production, such as Saudi Arabia and China, as they looked to secure future needs.

RISK VS REWARD

The strategies adopted by China and some of the major governments purchasing farmland have been controversial in Africa and parts of Asia where food security is an overriding issue locally, leading some funds to tread carefully.

“If you’re in a country where you’re a net importer of food and suddenly you have foreigners buying land, that could get politically sensitive, so we’ve generally stayed away from countries that are big net importers,” said Philipp Saumweber, managing director of Saumweber Holdings.

Some analysts are also sceptical about how easily pension funds can expand holdings.

“There’s lots of interest but little action. It’s difficult to deliver what these funds want; vast acres of cheap land in politically stable regions,” said Andrew Shirley, head of rural property research at estate agent Knight Frank.

Shirley said Brazilian farmland prices vary dramatically from less than 500 reais per hectare for undeveloped forest to more than 20,000 reais per hectare for double-cropping arable land.

In the United States, where pension funds have been investing for some time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture averaged arable values for the corn belt at $9,562 per hectare in 2008, Shirley added.

“There are undoubtedly opportunities for investors, but finding them is not easy or cheap and requires a huge amount of knowledge and expertise. There is no simple solution for pension funds looking to invest in global farmland,” he said.

AFRICAN PROMISE

Pension funds’ farmland assets are concentrated in grain exporting regions including the U.S., Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe and Australia. As some of these regions are more mature, land scarcity can also help drive up values.

“Seventy percent of productive land is already in use in the U.S. so the expansion of real estate is limited. Whereas in Brazil only 20 percent of arable land is used,” said Suzanne Petrela, partner at private investment firm Red Reef Partners.

Africa is seen as an interesting investment opportunity but the risks have so far limited investments. However, the region’s overwhelming potential is proving a long-term draw.

“As the market develops as a whole people will see opportunities in different regions and there’s always going to be pools of money that are seeking higher return strategies,” said Minaya.

While some of the bigger pension funds in Europe deepen their investments, others have started to latch onto the idea of farmland as an alternative investment.

U.K.-based BMS Group pension scheme and Merseyside Pension Fund, which do not hold farmland, is attracted by the long term investment horizon of between 10 and 30 years for farmland as it helps to manage illiquidity with farmland sometimes proving difficult to buy and sell quickly.

“The investment characteristics I am looking for are steady long-term growth, ideally sound inflation hedge, preferably lower correlation with equities; looking to capture value through active management; socially responsible investment,” said David Larson, chairman of the BMS Group pension scheme.

Source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLNE65S01K20100629

(Reporting by Sarah McFarlane and Camila Reed; Editing by William Hardy)

Sal Island is the most popular of the Cape Verde islands with a recognized International Airport.  Dunas Beach Resort and Spa is on the prime beach front location of Ponta Preta beach just minutes away from the main town of Santa Maria.

Dunas Beach Resort and Spa is a stunning development comprising studios, suites, apartments and villas all built to the quality expected of the resort operator Sol Meliá.  The Resort Offers

• Stunning choice of properties including villas, apartments, studios and suites.
• Prices range from €100,000 to €1,000,000.
• Direct flights from the UK airports Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham.
• Excellent rental returns from room rate share.
• Flexible payment schemes including interest payments on cash investments during construction.
• SIPP approved.
• Resort managed by the world renowned Sol Meliá to maximize the rental income potential.

Cape Verde

The closest tropical location to Europe, around an hour south of the Canary Islands and just over 5 hours from the UK.  Cape Verde enjoys a dry tropical climate with cool currents drifting around the islands keeping temperatures to a pleasant 22^o to 30^o all year round, without the risk of hurricanes.

The Islands boast some of the best beaches in the world and are only just being discovered.  Tourism has leapt from 67,000 visitors at the start of the Millennium to over 300,000 in 2007 and expectation is that this figure will top the 1 million mark as early as 2015.

As the popularity of Cape Verde increases and land values rise, demand will grow and properties will become more valuable.  An annual income for property owners will increase significantly as the tourist footfall continues to grow.  Sal Island accounts for 69% of Cape Verde’s rental market and the government is investing in the Islands to create a modern, world class tourist destination.

Dunas Beach Resort & Spa

Located on the white sands of the Ponta Preta beach, just outside the main town of Santa Maria, the MELIÁ Dunas Beach Resort will be one the most prestigious resorts on Sal Island.

The Resort will comprise of:

• Stunning choices of properties including villas, apartments, studios and suites.
• High quality finishes and understated luxury throughout the whole Resort.
• All the facilities you would expect from a 5 star MELIÁ Resort.
• World-class restaurants with a blend of international cuisine to suit all tastes.
• Expansive communal pools for ultimate relaxation.
• Tranquil surroundings with beautiful landscaped gardens.

The Resort will feature many fine restaurants & bars, two poolside wet bars, courtesy & lounge areas, Meliá Yhi Spa & gymnasium, tennis courts and a variety of shops.

Funding your property purchase

The Resort Group plc have developed payment options to suit a variety of investors, these include interest payments against cash deposit, cost of equity borrowing funded during construction and utilization of SIPP’s.

Cash Investments

Whilst banks offer paltry interest rates on savings for their customers, The Resort Group offer the complete opposite.  For clients investing cash savings in a Dunas Beach Resort property they will receive annual interest of 6% on the cash invested during the property construction phase.

Equity Release or borrowing

Clients who look to utilize equity in a home, buy-to-let or other forms of borrowing to invest in a Dunas Beach Resort property, The Resort Group will offer to service the interest costs on this borrowing, up to an interest rate of 10% per annum, during construction.  These interest payments will be rolled up and added to the property completion balance.

Additionally, as the investment is in Euro’s The resort Group offer an attractive guaranteed rate of exchange from Sterling to Euro’s.  The Resort Group can also provide access to free legal services and completion mortgages (subject to status) through Banif Bank.

SIPP Purchase

The Resort Group have partnered with some of the UK’s leading pension and investment experts to enable clients to discuss current personal arrangements and explore the most effective and efficient way of purchasing a property at the Dunas Beach Resort.

Easy Ownership

There are three payment options provided to meet the majority of investor requirements.

Option One

• €2,000 Reservation Fee.
• 35% payment on signing contracts, less the reservation fee.
• 65% payment on completion.
• Interest paid on borrowing until completion (added to final purchase price) or 6% interest as compensation on savings utilized.
• Mortgage on completion (subject to status), opportunity for 70% loan to value mortgage.
• Hotel Excellence Furniture Package discounted by 50%.

Option Two

• €2,000 Reservation Fee.
• 45% payment on signing contracts, less the reservation fee.
• 55% payment on completion.
• Interest paid on borrowing until completion (added to final purchase price) or 6% interest as compensation on savings utilized.
• Mortgage on completion (subject to status), opportunity for 70% loan to value mortgage.
• Hotel Excellence Furniture Package FREE.

Option Three

• €2,000 Reservation Fee.
• 25% payment on signing contracts, less the reservation fee.
• 20% payment after 6 months.
• 20% payment after 12 months.
• 20% payment after 18 months.
• Final 15% is written off.
• Hotel Excellence Furniture Package FREE.