How to prepare a land bank
for an agribusiness sale in Ukraine

Preparing a land bank for an agribusiness sale means reconciling every material parcel with its lease, cadastral data, registered rights, rent history, expiry date and identified risks. The outcome is a traceable parcel register supported by documents and a plan for resolving discrepancies, rather than a headline number of hectares.

01 · SHORT ANSWER

A land bank is a portfolio of rights

The total area under cultivation does not by itself establish land-bank quality. Parcels may be leased by different group companies under different terms, renewal provisions and rent arrangements.

Start with a map of the legal entities: which entity leases the land, owns operating assets, employs the team and sits within the proposed sale perimeter. In a share deal, the tenant company generally remains the contracting party; an asset deal requires a separate plan for the land rights.

02 · INVENTORY

Build a parcel-level master register

Each row should lead from the cadastral number to the lease and its data-room documents. Reconcile the area in the sale materials with the parcel total and the land actually cultivated.

• Cadastral number, area, community, location and map identifier.
• Landowner, tenant entity, type of right, lease and amendments.
• Commencement and expiry, renewal terms, notices and relationship manager.
• Rent, latest payment, arrears and disputed balances.
• Registration status, subleases, encumbrances, disputes and document folder.
• Identified gap, risk level, responsible person and remediation status.

03 · EVIDENCE OF RIGHTS

Reconcile leases, cadastre and registered rights

For every material parcel compare the agreement and amendments, State Land Cadastre information, and the record of registered rights and encumbrances. Check the cadastral number, area, parties, type of right and term.

Cadastral records and registration of rights serve distinct purposes. A mismatch does not determine the legal outcome on its own: record it, obtain current evidence and ask Ukrainian legal advisers to identify the appropriate remedy.

1. Lease

   Collect the agreement, amendments, relevant acts and renewal correspondence.

2. Cadastre

   Check the parcel identifier, area, location and recorded restrictions.

3. Rights register

   Confirm the tenant, type and term of the registered right and any encumbrances.

04 · TERM AND PAYMENTS

Show the lease-maturity profile

Group the number of agreements and area by expiry year. Flag upcoming notice periods, renewal discussions and disputed terms. This shows whether an operationally important field cluster is exposed to a concentrated expiry.

Reconcile agreed rent with actual payments, any in-kind settlement, indexation, accounting records and landowner complaints. An arbitrary “safe” renewal percentage would be misleading; assess concentration and the operational importance of each cluster.

05 · RISKS

Maintain a separate issues register

For each issue record the facts, evidence, owner and proposed treatment: resolve before signing, make it a closing condition or disclose it appropriately to the buyer. A flagged item does not, on its own, establish a legal conclusion.

• Subleases, contractual restrictions and registered encumbrances.
• Litigation, boundary or cadastral-number disputes, and competing documents.
• Unresolved succession, parcel subdivision or missing amendments.
• Missing originals, incomplete registration and inconsistent areas or parties.
• Rent arrears, landowner complaints and parcels critical to field access.

06 · OPERATING CONTINUITY

Demonstrate field-cluster integrity

Map principal clusters, fragmented parcels, distances to operating facilities, access-critical plots and land not currently cultivated. Every mapped parcel should carry the same identifier as the register and evidence folder.

Document relationship managers, material complaints, renewal discussions and unresolved payments. Share landowner contact information in stages under agreed confidentiality and access rules.

07 · BUYER MATERIALS

Set up a traceable data room

Use a consistent naming convention and connect files to register rows. Limit personal and banking data to reviewers who need it. Anonymised portfolio summaries may be sufficient in the first review stage.

• Group and tenant map, parcel register and field-cluster maps.
• Leases, amendments, cadastral documents and evidence of registered rights.
• Payment and arrears schedule, sublease documents and renewal correspondence.
• Dispute and encumbrance log, discrepancy report and remediation tracker.

08 · READINESS CHECKLIST

Check the package before approaching buyers

• Every tenant entity and reported parcel appears in the inventory; totals reconcile.
• Leases, cadastral data and registered rights have been compared; gaps are flagged.
• Lease maturities and renewal status can be reviewed by period.
• Payments and arrears are supported; disputes and encumbrances are disclosed.
• Field maps match the register and documents are indexed in the data room.
• Every issue has an owner and action; legal and financial advisers have reviewed the package.