FarmWizard Nets Investment from Dukes Company

A COMPANY linked to the Duke of Westminster ‚Äî one of the UK’s wealthiest royals ‚Äî has invested in Northern Ireland agri-IT firm FarmWizard.
Founder Terry Canning and investors have sold three-quarters of the web-based livestock management business to Wheatsheaf Investments, which is part of the Duke’s empire.
Belfast-based FarmWizard was established in 2004, and developed the world’s first cloud-based agricultural software solution, making it easier for farmers to maintain records.

Terry Canning said he ‘looked forward to what the future holds”. “I am absolutely delighted to be on board. “Wheatsheaf has a clear vision for how technology is going to help feed the world’s growing population and I am delighted that FarmWizard is going to play a part in making that a reality.” Mr Canning will continue to lead the company. FarmWizard ‚Äî which already boasts thousands of customers ‚Äî allows farmers to manage their livestock from anywhere in the world with an internet connection.

Anthony James of Wheatsheaf said the acquisition of FarmWizard complements its “existing portfolio of businesses”. “FarmWizard is an innovative software platform which is already proven to help farmers be more efficient by better managing their resources in the beef, dairy and sheep sectors,” he said. ‘With our support, we believe it will help farms across the world to produce food with increased efficiently and help meet the demands of a growing global population.”
Wheatsheaf Investment ‚Äî which was set up by the Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor Estate in 2012 ‚Äî owns the UK’s largest bull stud.

FarmWizard received financial backing from the Halo network ‚Äî a group of so-called angel investors.Its director Alan Watts welcomed news of the deal. “I’m particularly delighted by the success of Farm Wizard as it vindicates the angel investing model,” he said. “Examples like this can only encourage other successful business people to look seriously at Halo and angel investing as a genuine opportunity to make money.”