Agriculture and engineering giant Camellia is offloading most of its private banking business Duncan Lawrie after a cut to interest rates lowered its ability to give returns for investors.

The international group, which has its headquarters in Linton, Maidstone, first indicated its concerns about the “challenging environment” for the lender, which has one of its four offices in Wrotham, in its half-year financial results in August.

It has sold the majority of the institution’s UK loans and some of its loans from its Isle of Man operations to private bank Arbuthnot Latham & Co for £42.7 million.

It has also agreed to sell Duncan Lawrie Asset Management to wealth managers Brewin Dolphin for £28 million.

Camellia, which employs 76,000 people worldwide, owns agriculture businesses including tea and macadamia farming, as well as some engineering firms in the UK.

In its announcement to the London Stock Exchange, it said its “conservative risk appetite” had influenced its decision.

Already squeezed margins for investors have been tightened further after the Bank of England cut interest rates to 0.25% in August.

Duncan Lawrie made pre-tax losses of £3.6 million last year and £2.8 million in the first half of 2016.

Camellia said the proceeds from the sales will be used to repay depositors, meet any other liabilities of Duncan Lawrie and reinvested in other parts of the group.

It will keep about 5% of Duncan Lawrie’s loans but will wind down deposit taking and its other banking operations in the UK and Isle of Man. It will then return all cash to its clients.