Advisory Services

We provide financial, economic and investment advice using a range of well-proven methodologies and in-house frameworks. Our networks throughout the agribusiness sector in particular enable us to quickly source investment opportunities for New Zealand and international clients, mainly focusing on rural land and forestry. Services provided include sourcing properties, developing projections, evaluating options and assessing risks and returns. Nimmo-Bell has previously been involved with the development and ongoing management of some $30 million of assets.

Capabilities

• identification of investment opportunities
• feasibility studies
• business case development
• financial analysis
• capital structuring
• raising capital from investors
• development of business structures
• ongoing investment management
• facilitating share sales

We undertake market monitoring, competition analysis and literature reviews for clients. We have experience across various sectors – from examining market demand for dairy products in Asia to investigating changing consumption habits in New Zealand (i.e. of beef, lamb, pork, poultry, fish, dairy products and fruit and vegetables) to analyse the impact on producers, processors, distributors and marketers. We’ve also worked across the forestry, deer (venison and velvet), leather, fruit, arable crop and wool industries.

Capabilities

• competitor country analysis
• competitor product analysis
• agricultural production trends
• agri-food and fibre consumption trends
• New Zealand production and consumption trends

We’ve been managing projects in the primary industry sector for nearly 30 years, including land development and financial/investment projects. Our experience includes providing general management services in relation to New Zealand farm and forestry businesses, leading a bilateral aid project in Peru, conducting a pre-feasibility study for integrated dairy and beef smallholder production in Indonesia and providing best practice advice concerning strategic, operational and financial planning and human resource development. Our team members also provide executive director and representation services on various boards.

Capabilities

• rural property development planning and budgeting
• obtaining and meeting requirements of resource consents
• overseeing physical development work
• regular monitoring and reporting against planned timing and expenditure
• Overseas Investment Commission (OIC) approval
• provision of financial forecasts and feasibility studies
• regular investor updates
• budgeting and financial planning
• monthly financial recording and reporting
• provision of year-end financial reports

We assist government and industry organisations across a range of areas in strategy and policy development. This extends to environmental policy relating to land and water use. Our consultants are experienced in the requirements of corporate governance and have provided strategic and operational business management advice to several government projects, including a women’s microfinance programme in Fiji and a bilateral forestry project in the Philippines. Incorporation of cross-cutting considerations around sustainable business performance is a key feature of our work, including climate change resilience, cultural sensitivity and gender equity.

Capabilities

• analysis of operating environments
• environmental policy development
• assessing costs associated with land use changes/restrictions
• providing macro-economic impact assessment models for land use changes
• facilitating discussion around future land management options

We manage and deliver finance services for small to medium-sized business and individual entrepreneurs in developing countries. These services are provided through a variety of mechanisms and are designed to assist poverty alleviation right down to village level. We have been involved in the financing of a wide range of agricultural activities, from large coffee, cocoa and rubber plantations to smallholder vegetable and livestock operations. Our work in this field includes supervised management of individual borrowers’ business and cash flow.

Nimmo-Bell started working with the Papua New Guinea Development Bank in the early 1980s and has been involved with development banking activities ever since. We have worked with eleven development banks in the Pacific region, including coordinating inputs into the reconstruction of the Development Bank of Kiribati and a number of regional development banks in Indonesia for the Asian Development Bank.

Our consultants are skilled in monitoring, evaluation and review. For such assignments, we bring a professional independent approach to assess the performance of industries, businesses, agencies, policies, programmes or projects. Performance is assessed against client-agreed parameters and, where necessary, we provide recommendations for improvement and/or lessons to be learned for future initiatives. Our experience in this field includes reviewing the Tonga passionfruit and dairy industries and evaluating New Zealand environmental policies and their effect on sustainable agriculture.

We offer specialist economic research and financial analysis services, with experience in the agribusiness, forestry, nutraceutical and health sectors as well as knowledge of special economic zones. Our work in this field has included economic analyses of water quality interventions in New Zealand and reviewing the rural credit policies and operations of New Zealand’s main rural lenders.

Nimmo-Bell has been providing macro-economic advice, directorship services and marketing expertise to the Tuvalu Trust Fund since its inception in 1987. Our consultants have also provided advisory services to trust funds in Fiji, Kiribati and Tokelau.

Our consultants have managed and provided management advice to commercial businesses and overseas projects, including a join forestry initiative between New Zealand and the Philippines. We have significant hands-on organisational change management experience, including privatisation of government entities and corporatisation. We are sensitive to the human and cultural requirements of such processes in New Zealand and overseas.

We are skilled at identifying the costs and benefits of specific projects and quantifying them in dollar terms. The quantification of costs and benefits, however, is often based on a subjective and therefore inherently uncertain process. To model the impact of key uncertain variables on the outcome of the cost-benefit analysis (CBA), we use an in-house Quantified Risk Analysis (QuRA) framework.