SLM Partners completes 5th permanent crop deal in Iberia in partnership with Masia El Carmen
SLM Partners acquires 160 hectares in Aragon to develop organic and regenerative super high-density olive orchards, in partnership with Masia El Carmen, the agricultural arm of the CrowdFarming founders.
(London, 1st June) – SLM Partners is pleased to announce the completion of its fifth deal in Iberia, as part of the SLM Silva Europe Fund. Launched in 2021, SLM Silva Europe Fund is SLM Partners’ first agricultural strategy dedicated to Europe. The Fund is a €30 million real assets strategy dedicated to sustainable orchards in Spain and Portugal, growing almonds, pistachios, walnuts and olives.
The Fund targets both brownfield and greenfield opportunities, acquiring land with established orchards, as well as bare land suitable for orchard development. Across all its assets, the Fund partners with experienced local operators to manage these orchards and implement regenerative practices.
In this latest transaction, the Fund has acquired 160 hectares in the Caspe region of Aragon, in north-eastern Spain. The property is currently bare and will be developed into organic and regenerative super high-density olive orchards.
The farm is composed of rainfed and irrigated areas. For the irrigated areas, the farm benefits from a newly established irrigation infrastructure connected to the Ebro water basin, one of the most secure water sources in the region.
“With this transaction, we have now reached full deployment of the SLM Silva Europe Fund,” said Joao Roseiro, Agronomy Director at SLM Partners. “The investment brings us to a new region of the Iberian Peninsula, further diversifying our exposure across different micro-climates and different water sources.”
“Importantly, through this investment,” he added, “we have been able to partner with an exceptionally innovative operator with strong alignment to the SLM Partners’ investment philosophy – Masia El Carmen”.
As part of the investment, SLM Partners has entered into a long-term partnership agreement with Masia El Carmen, a local agricultural operator headquartered in Valencia, Spain. Masia El Carmen is a specialised operator whose services span sourcing and converting conventional land into regenerative organic production, and building food brands tied to those properties through direct sales channels.
Today, Masia El Carmen owns and manages over 600 hectares of organic orchards and crops across Spain producing olives, citrus, kiwis, grapes, pomegranates, persimmons and vegetables. The company is strongly committed to organic and regenerative agriculture and is able to market most of its produce through direct-to-consumer channels, capturing premiums above organic pricing.
The property acquired by SLM Partners will begin its transition to organic certification immediately. Furthermore, SLM Partners and Masia El Carmen will work together to develop a regenerative transition plan for the farm, focusing on biodiversity, soil health, carbon sequestration and water.
This project will be led by Javier Abellan, agronomic engineer at Masia El Carmen who was recently named as Top 50 Farmer in 2026.
SLM Partners is also working with Portuguese agri-ecological specialists to support biodiversity management across both the productive and non-productive areas of the farm.
“SLM Partners stands out to us as one of the pioneering institutional investors. in the region whose philosophy is genuinely aligned with our own,” said Gonzalo Urculo, founder of Masia El Carmen and CrowdFarming. "They share our commitment to organic and regenerative agriculture, and our belief that real value comes not from short-term yields but from soil quality, resilience and the food we can grow."
Following this latest acquisition, the SLM Silva Europe Fund now manages 5 properties across Iberia, totalling more than 920 hectares.
About CrowdFarming
CrowdFarming is the biggest European direct farmer-to-consumer marketplace cofounded in 2017 by the brothers Gabriel and Gonzalo Úrculo. It grew out of Naranjas del Carmen (founded 2010) and allows consumers across Europe to buy harvests directly from farmers — including by “adopting” a tree — with the mission of making regenerative agricultural possible for farmers and accessible for consumers. More information: crowdfarming.com
Top 50 Farmers (T50F) is a pan-European accelerator and community platform that recognises and supports farmers leading the transition to regenerative agriculture. Each year it selects 50 farmers from across Europe — chosen for their work on soil health, biodiversity and climate resilience — who gain access to a year-long programme and alumni network.