Foresight Sustainable Forestry fully invested – Foresight Sustainable Forestry Company has bought two afforestation sites, Burn of Bellyhack and Red Craig & Glen Burn. The sites are both located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and have a total area of 359 hectares, increasing the total area of the portfolio to 8,474 hectares. The pair of properties were acquired for £5.47m in aggregate (inclusive of tax and other transaction costs).
Following these two deals, afforestation sites now account for a third of the value of the portfolio. Successfully developing land for afforestation (which drives returns through capital appreciation and access to voluntary carbon credits) is a core part of Foresight Sustainable Forestry’s strategy. The deals mean that the company has now utilised 91% of the IPO proceeds and is on course to be fully deployed once the current pipeline of assets in exclusivity transact.
Burn of Bellyhack
On 9 March 2022, FSF completed the acquisition of Burn of Bellyhack. The site is located near Huntly, Scotland. The local area is well known for highly productive commercial forests and the site has excellent afforestation potential in addition to an already established small woodland. Burn of Bellyhack has a total area of 174 hectares capable of supporting a commercial woodland creation scheme.
Red Craig & Glen Burn
On 18 March 2022, FSF completed the acquisition of the Red Craig & Glen Burn. The sites, two parcels of non-contiguous land, are also located near Huntly, Scotland. The properties consist of improved grazing and pastureland, with excellent potential to sustain a commercial afforestation scheme. The properties have a total area of 185 hectares in aggregate and are capable of supporting woodland creation schemes.
Both acquired sites are currently unconsented for tree planting. Consulting closely with the local community, Foresight Sustainable Forestry will now further develop the preferred planting designs and will progress the afforestation development and application process in line with national and regional regulations. Under the trust’s ownership, the afforestation sites are expected to deliver material biodiversity improvements. An independent ecologist will be appointed to evaluate the impact on biodiversity of the finalised scheme’s design using the UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Biodiversity Metric 3.0 methodology.
FSF : Foresight Sustainable Forestry close to fully invested