Cheshire agricultural college to grow international footprint with £15m investment

Reaseheath College in Cheshire has secured £15m funding to offer more courses and expand its student accommodation portfolio.

The specialist agricultural and horticultural college said the eight-figure boost, received through Santander’s education division, will enable it to grow its reputation nationally and internationally.

Reaseheath is an 815-acre land-based college, primarily based on the outskirts of Nantwich.

Its campus facilities include a full working dairy farm, parklands, equine centre and licensed food factory.

The new funding from Santander follows an initial £14.5m refinancing package provided in 2017.

Reaseheath College’s chief finance officer and director of resources, Graeme Lavery, said: “Reaseheath College have been delighted with the support provided by Santander to date.

“The series of new capital developments that we have underway are important for the ongoing success of the college in providing high quality facilities for our learners and employer partners with whom we work in equipping students for their future careers.”

John Ramsay, relationship director in the education team at Santander, commented: “We are delighted to be able to support Reaseheath college with this funding and look forward to supporting the college to achieve its goal of expanding both nationally and internationally.

“It has a strong reputation in a number of key areas and its relationship with local and national businesses has been a key driver in its growth.”

Reaseheath College is one of the UK’s top five agricultural and horticultural colleges. Courses include food engineering, agriculture and animal management.