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Company History

CFTG traces its origins back to 1994 when farming operations were established in the fertile Vistula delta in northern Poland. From 1994 to 2006 the Group continued to acquire and lease land in the Vistula delta in Poland consolidating and acquiring the combined freehold land at approximately 2,100 hectares. During this period CFTG also developed commercial skills and relationships and an operational working model for farming larger scale operations which it has transferred to its business in Ukraine.

In 2006 operations were established to lease and farm land in Ukraine. CFTG plc was formed in June 2008 when the operations of Poland and Ukraine were brought together under one entity. In 2008 and early 2009 the Group raised €20 million of equity funding to accelerate its expansion in the Ukraine which resulted in Origin Enterprises plc becoming a substantial shareholder. These funds were used to advance the land lease programme, purchase modern machinery, chemicals and fertiliser as well as investment in storage facilities and for working capital puposes. From 2006 to 2015 the Group has grown its land bank in the Ukraine to over 35,000 hectares with 32,000 hectares planted in 2015

In January 2012 CFTG entered into a 50/50 joint venture with ED&F Man for the production and supply of sugar beet in the Mykolaiv region of southern Ukraine for ED&F Man's sugar beet factory. In 2014 ED&F Man acquired CFTG's share of this venture.

In June 2013, CFTG was acquired by United Farmers Holding Company (‘UFHC’), which is owned by a consortium of the following three Saudi Arabian entities