Mark Cornell is the owner of Agri Lending Solutions, a farm finance broking business based in Mildura that serves farming families across regional Victoria and far south-western New South Wales.
Born and raised in Mildura, Mark has spent more than 20 years working in agribusiness finance, building a detailed understanding of the pressures, rhythms, and long-term goals that shape a farming operation. He works closely with broadacre cropping enterprises, mixed farming businesses, livestock producers, and family farms across the Mallee, Wimmera, North Central, Central Murray, Western Districts, and Far West NSW regions.
Mark's approach goes well beyond placing a loan. He takes the time to understand each farm's financial position in depth, including income, costs per acre, debt servicing capacity, equity levels, and lending value ratios, before approaching any lender. That analysis forms the foundation of everything he does, whether a client is purchasing a neighbouring block, financing a header, buying out non-farming siblings as part of a succession plan, or working out whether expansion actually stacks up.
Farm succession planning is one of the areas where Mark's on-the-ground experience makes a real difference. He works alongside farming families, their accountants, and their solicitors to make sure the finance side of any intergenerational transfer is viable and clearly structured. That includes exploring funding arrangements for the next generation to take on the farm, retirement income planning for the outgoing generation, and understanding how different farm structures affect borrowing capacity and security options.
When it comes to farm expansion, Mark conducts in-depth analysis of a farm's present gross income and costs per acre to clearly demonstrate its capacity to service additional debt before any commitment is made. He also helps clients think through the trade-offs between purchasing and leasing land, and how machinery finance fits within the broader picture of capital expenditure and cash flow.
Mark is a well-known and trusted figure in finance and sporting circles throughout the regions he serves. His long-standing community ties give him a genuine understanding of what farming families are working toward, and he approaches every conversation as a long-term partner, not just for a single transaction.
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R & K Hunter
Over the last decade, Mark has been an integral part of our family farming enterprise. His guidance, expertise, and support through his business offerings has given us the confidence to do what we do best, and continue to grow in an ever challenging environment. From initial equipment finance, through to full succession planning and implementation, including complete financial review and KPI analysis to satisfy the most stringent criteria, has given us a much fuller understanding of the financial matters that affect our operation, viability and profitability. His complete knowledge of the ag sector has lead us to developing a long term, inter-generational plan, that we would have not have thought about without his guidance and leadership. We can highly recommend his services to anyone that seeks stress-free options and advice, irrespective of the size of your operation.
Paul Leslie
We have worked with Mark for the past 7 years and he has been instrumental in helping us with expansion and forward planning our farming business. His understanding of agriculture, family businesses, financial management and dealing with banks has been invaluable. He's very personable and enjoyable to work with.
J&A Frankel
Since we began farming in 2002 our farm and how it operates has evolved significantly over the years, as has the business and financial side of farming, with many changes in how business is now conducted. When we came across Mark at ALS we were looking for someone who supports and understands the direction we wanted to take our business but also someone who takes the time consuming and hard work out of the preparation needed for conducting that business, especially when it came to financing. Mark has a wealth of knowledge which he has used to support our business with financial processes making them simple and stress free. We highly recommend Mark at ALS.
P & A Huttig
Mark has been a key part of our family farming business’s finances for many years. His attention to detail is second to none, and he is able to discern the scope and ambitions of our business and tailor his expertise accordingly. Mark is a much needed advocate when dealing with the banking sector, ensuring that we receive the best possible outcome.
Allan Ag Pty Ltd
We had an excellent experience and were extremely pleased with the level of attention and individualised care we received from Mark and the ALS team throughout the process. Their knowledge and expertise in lending solutions, particularly their understanding of the complexities that can arise within family businesses, was invaluable. They took the time to understand our individual circumstances, carefully considered every detail and clearly explained the options available to us. Their professional and considered approach to both financial matters and family circumstances gave us confidence that we were receiving advice tailored specifically to our situation. We greatly appreciated Marks attention to detail, extensive knowledge, professionalism and genuine commitment to achieving the best possible outcome. We would highly recommend their services to anyone seeking lending solutions, family business guidance and financial advice. We will definitely be contacting Mark for further assistance in the future.
Craig Robertson
Mark and the the team at ALS have been nothing short of exceptional in the way they work through everything with me to ensure it's all done correctly. Nothing is overlooked, done quickly to my needs. Their knowledge and advice is outstanding. I cannot recommend them highly enough.
Areas Serviced
Specialties
Farm Machinery Finance
Farming Land Finance
Expansion Analysis
Succession Planning