Brian Richardson’s varied career may have taken him all over the world, but he has always stayed true to farming. He talks to Wendy Short.

Brian Richardson’s career has taken him in a variety of directions, but he has rarely strayed far from farming or from his northern roots. As well as being very active in the farming sector since joining Virgin Money as UK head of agriculture in 2018, many will remember him as the past chief executive of the H&H Group.

Born on a dairy farm just outside Harrogate, Brian decided against following a practical farming career. Nevertheless, his interest in the industry persisted and on leaving school he became a trainee at a feed mill and agricultural merchant business based in Harrogate, before joining the JSR Farming Group as a commercial assistant in 1982.

“The late John Rymer headed the company in those days and he had a real passion for developing and investing in the staff,” said Brian. “I started out in the budgeting and marketing department and by the age of 30 I had been made managing director.

“At that time, JSR was exporting pig genetics globally and I was lucky enough to be able to travel the world as part of my role. This gave me an insight into the bigger picture in terms of farming. It was a very happy 16 years with the company that I very much enjoyed, but the sad passing of John Rymer meant it was time for a new challenge.”

By the time he left JSR in 1998, Brian and his wife, Sandra, had two young daughters. When his next appointment led to him joining the farmer buying group Woldmarsh Producers as chief executive, the family moved to Louth in Lincolnshire. In 2005, he took over as managing director of CWG, a farming cooperative in need a new direction after several years’ of poor trading.

“When I joined Woldmarsh, it had 600 members and a £15m turnover,” he explained. “By the time I left seven years later, membership had increased to about 800, with a £40m turnover.

"During that period, I completed a Nuffield scholarship, which led to visits to several European countries and New Zealand; all of which have a long history of running successful farmer co-operatives. The main message that I brought home was the critical importance of having top quality people in management and on the board.”

In 2008, Brian moved back to the North of England on his appointment as chief executive of the H&H Group.

“My main focus was on profitability and growth and I was proud to have been involved in the company’s acquisition of John Swan livestock auctioneers, which cemented H&H’s position as the largest livestock marketing business in the UK. I was also involved in the development and expansion of other businesses within the Group, including a land agency and an insurance company.

“Working at H&H was extremely interesting; it is a vibrant company with approximately 200 staff. The business operates mainly in the livestock auction sector, where you are only as good as your last sale. One major and very rewarding element of my job was to see young people coming through and developing to achieve more senior positions.”

His current role is leading the Virgin Money Agricultural Team across the UK, putting their combined knowledge and expertise to best use in supporting their farming customers’ businesses. Over the past five years, Brian and his team of agri-specialists have been working with the bank’s farming customers to help them secure a sustainable future in the new, environmentally-focused UK agricultural landscape.

“I was very proud when Virgin Money launched the UK’s first dedicated fund to help farmers move to net zero. The Agri E Fund is a £200m initiative, dedicated to supporting UK farmers with green loans. These loans have zero per cent arrangement fees for investments into emission-reducing projects and they will also encourage the uptake of carbon audits. The aim is to help farmers enhance their green credentials and potentially reduce costs through efficiency and productivity improvements.

“Virgin Money has run a pilot scheme to encourage customers to have carbon audits conducted on their farms. This provides an ideal starting point on the net zero journey and we have produced our own Net Zero guide, which is available via the website. Feedback has been positive and we hope it will give agricultural businesses another weapon in their armoury.”

Brian has remained based in Cumbria and both he and his wife enjoy the rural lifestyle, walking the fells whenever possible. He remains passionately committed to the farming industry and understands the challenges facing farmers on a day-to-day basis.

“Most sectors of UK agriculture have enjoyed a reasonably good 12 months, but the rise in input costs is squeezing profitability and there is a great deal of uncertainty over changes to support payments.

“I would encourage everyone to delve deep into their financial performance and scrutinise the new support schemes, to see where their businesses might benefit. Change is challenging, but we are firmly committed to helping farms to find a way forward. It is incredibly rewarding to use my agricultural knowledge and commercial experience to support and work in such a vibrant sector. No two days are ever the same,” he said.