Forestry and nature-based investments

Investments that aim to meet clients’ financial objectives and contribute to better environmental and social outcomes

Investments that aim to meet clients’ financial objectives and contribute to better environmental and social outcomes

Sustainable forestry investment with Gresham House

Our Forestry team is focused on the management and delivery of long-term, sustainable timber production and wider afforestation.

Investment in forestry diversifies an investment portfolio and provides exposure to potential increases in the value of timber, carbon credits, natural capital and underlying land value.

We have a multi-decade track record investing in forestry as a source of natural capital and are the UK’s largest forestry asset manager. Our forests and tree planting can make a significant contribution to global net zero carbon and biodiversity targets.

 

Want to keep up to date?

Our commitments to sustainable forest management

As a leading forestry investor we take our responsibilities to sustainability and governance very seriously.

The Gresham House Forest Charter sets out our verifiable commitments and targets relating to sustainable forest management.

A sustainable and long-term timber supply is crucial to enabling the world’s transition to a lower carbon economy, as highlighted in our Global Timber Outlook.

Our forestry investments involve the ownership of freehold land on which sustainable timber, carbon sequestration and other natural capital opportunities can be created, managed and optimised.

Why invest in Sustainable Forestry?

Forestry has proven an attractive alternative asset for long-term investors, and a haven for in times of macroeconomic downturns, underpinned by the biological growth of trees, low correlation to mainstream asset classes, and timber acting as a strong inflation hedge. It provides the opportunity to benefit from the value of a naturally growing commodity and the security of ownership of the underlying land. This allows for:

    • An income stream from timber harvested from the forest
    • Long-term capital appreciation in a sustainable and tax-efficient* manner
    • Portfolio diversification through returns uncorrelated to more traditional asset classes
    • Inflation protection
    • Reduced volatility

Over the next 30 years, Gresham House expects global timber consumption to rise by an average of 3.1% per annum, driven by increasing urbanisation and rising GDP per capita.

How can I invest in Forestry?

Investors can access forestry investment in two ways:

Commercial Real Estate and Forestry –
A comparative analysis

Over the past 36 years, Forestry has produced a double digit compound annual growth rate, making it the best performing investment relative to other major asset classes 1 as well as alternatives such as commercial real estate (CRE).

In this whitepaper, we take an in-depth look at these two asset classes providing a comparative analysis, covering:

  • Their differing business models
  • How they seek to mitigate market and business cycle risk
  • Their contrasting funding structures
  • How Forestry confers inflation (CPI) protection in contrast to CRE
  • The relative diversification benefits of each asset class
  • The future value drivers for Forestry and CRE

1. In this paper, we compared US Forestry, US Commercial Real Estate, High Yield Bonds, Investment Grade Bonds, Global Equities, US Equities, Commodities and Gold (July 2023)

Request a copy

UK Forestry Investment Fundamentals

Forestry is a proven asset class which has delivered compelling real returns for institutional, family office and private investors.

Key attributes include:

  • Asset-backing
  • Independent certification as a sustainable and socially responsible investment
  • Potential for returns with minimal correlation to mainstream asset classes (but positive correlation to inflation)
  • We expect global demand for timber to increase substantially

In our latest UK Forestry Investment Fundamentals paper, released in April 2022, we go into more detail about the benefits, drivers and risks inherent in forestry investment.

Download your copy

 

forestry fundamentals cover

Investment team

Distribution Team

Distribution Team

Distribution Team

Latest Forestry news and views