Key Takeaways
- InSoil has secured a €120 million senior secured credit facility from Pollen Street Capital, described as one of the largest private credit commitments to date for sustainable agriculture lending in Europe.
- The facility will expand InSoil's capacity to provide mid-term debt capital to agricultural SMEs adopting sustainable practices including no-till cultivation, cover cropping, diversified crop rotation, and reduced synthetic fertilizer use.
- The underlying loans benefit from a guarantee from the European Investment Fund (EIF) under the InvestEU programme, providing structural protection for the facility.
- Since launching in 2020, InSoil has financed more than 3,500 agricultural SMEs and collected over 15,000 soil samples across participating farms, building one of the region's largest proprietary soil carbon datasets.
- The European Investment Bank has estimated an annual SME financing gap of €62 billion in European agriculture, a market segment historically underserved by traditional bank lenders.
InSoil Closes €120M Facility With Pollen Street Capital
European agricultural finance company InSoil has secured a €120 million senior secured credit facility from Pollen Street Capital, a private credit investor. The financing is intended to expand InSoil's capacity to provide mid-term debt capital to small and medium-sized agricultural businesses across Europe that are adopting sustainable farming practices, including no-till cultivation, cover cropping, diversified crop rotation, and reduced use of synthetic fertilizers.
The underlying loans benefit from a guarantee from the European Investment Fund (EIF) under the InvestEU programme. The deal addresses a segment that has historically been underserved by traditional bank lenders — the European Investment Bank has estimated the annual SME financing gap in European agriculture at €62 billion.
InSoil's Track Record and Soil Data Platform
Since its launch in 2020, InSoil has financed more than 3,500 agricultural SMEs investing in sustainable farming practices. Alongside its lending operations, the company has collected over 15,000 soil samples across participating farms, building what it describes as one of the region's largest proprietary soil carbon datasets. The company says this dataset underpins both its credit underwriting methodology and its climate impact measurement.
InSoil and Pollen Street on the Strategic Rationale
“European agriculture is entering a new investment cycle. Farmers need capital to modernise equipment, improve soil health and build more resilient businesses, but specialised financing has been scarce. This facility lets us meet that demand at scale, and shows that sustainable agriculture has become an investable asset class for institutional capital,” said Laimonas Noreika, CEO and Founder of InSoil.
“InSoil has built a genuinely differentiated position in European agricultural finance, combining deep relationships, rigorous credit underwriting and a strong track record. Backed by the EIF guarantee, the facility offers compelling structural protection,” said Paul Varty, Investment Director at Pollen Street.
Pollen Street's Focus on Specialty Agriculture Finance
Pollen Street Capital describes the investment as consistent with its continued focus on European specialty finance platforms that combine strong origination franchises, government-backed structural protections, and clear environmental and social impact. Norton Rose Fulbright and Cobalt acted as legal advisers to Pollen Street, while Tegos and Response Legal advised InSoil.
