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The agribusiness specialist has acquired a regional South Australian brokerage as it continues to grow its broker and financial services offering.
ASX-listed agribusiness Elders has announced that it has acquired Riverland-based agri brokerage and financial services business, Riverland Lending Services (RLS).
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RLS has been in operation since 2002 and specialises in agribusiness, equipment, and business finance. It has grown to become one of the largest finance brokerages in the region, operating through four offices (Adelaide, Berri, Loxton, and Mildura) and a broader affiliated broker network.
As part of the acquisition, which took effect on Friday (1 November), nine RLS brokers and four support staff will be onboarded, as the group continues to bolster its existing broking offering.
The RLS branding will remain in market.
Nick Clark, Elders GM for financial services and network improvement, said the acquisition would increase Elders’s reach and support the network’s ongoing growth.
“Through this acquisition, Elders will be able to offer a greater depth and breadth of service to clients and we are fortunate to have the ability and reputation of the RLS team to help us do this,” Clark said.
“This acquisition complements our strategy to fill geographical gaps across all facets of lending, and complements our recent investments in employing agri finance relationship brokers across the country.”
Mark Fielke, the managing director of RLS, said the move would provide clients with a “heightened level of service” going forward.
“RLS has been operating for 20 years, and during this time we have established a strong footprint in South Australia, and expanded successfully into the eastern states,” Fielke said.
“Now seems like the perfect time to join Elders, which will provide the knowledge and expertise to take our business and service to the next level.”
The acquisition is the latest brokerage deal made by the agribusiness specialist, after its acquisition of home loan and financial services business, Zobel, in 2023.
The group said it would continue to target growth in strategic locations across Australia.
Mergers and acquisitions have been popular in the broker channel over the past few years, as businesses look to benefit from economies of scale.
Recent M&A activity in the space includes Entourage Finance’s acquisition of Hawthorn-based mortgage brokerage Clover Financial, UFinancial’s acquisition of Court Financial Services (CFS), and the move by Smartmove Professional Mortgage Advisors to become part of Viridian Financial Group Limited.
Mergers have also been numerous, with the merger of Chris Bates and Christian Stevens’ broking business – to form Flint – creating one of the largest independent brokerages in the country.
Similarly, Victorian-headquartered financial services group Empower Wealth has been looking at a range of mergers and acquisitions and, earlier this year, appointed Sam Boer as its new business development director to lead its new mergers and acquisitions (M&A) function.
[Related: Elders acquires SA brokerage]
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