Stafford Capital Partners has invested $70m (€64m) to acquire the first assets for its debut carbon-offset timberland fund.
The manager’s UK local government pension schemes-backed Stafford Carbon Offsets Opportunities Fund has invested $60m to acquire degraded pastureland in south-western Brazil and made a $12m investment in three properties totalling 1,914ha in New Zealand.
In Brazil, the plan is to cultivate commercial timber plantations on half of the land, while preserving the other half through forest restoration. New Zealand’s land is primarily suited for grazing or forestry, Stafford said, adding that it will plant 1,356ha with radiata pine and manage the remaining area for conservation.
Stafford Capital’s CEO Angus Whiteley, said: “Institutional investors’ appetite for investible climate solutions is only growing in the context of the race to net zero. The carbon-sequestering properties of timber, the world’s only climate-friendly building product, are compelling.
“Those deploying capital into timber will enjoy a first-mover advantage as net-zero deadlines loom and supply constraints of high-quality carbon removals and sustainable timber products start to have an impact.”
Last year, IPE Real Assets reported that two local government pension schemes (LGPS) had backed Stafford Capital’s debut carbon-offset timberland fund, a vehicle anchored by LGPS peer Essex Pension Fund.
At the time, Stafford Capital said the capital commitments from Leicestershire and the City and County of Swansea, together with Essex Pension’s £100m (€113m) investment in late 2022, gave the Stafford Carbon Offsets Opportunity Fund a $242m first close.
To read the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.
