West Yorkshire-backed Rebalance Earth launches joint venture with Restore

West Yorkshire Pension Fund (WYPF)-backed Rebalance Earth, a UK-based asset manager pioneering investment in ‘nature as infrastructure’, has launched a £1m (€1.2m) partnership with UK ecological restoration firm Restore.

The investment, deployed from Rebalance Earth’s cornerstone fund backed by WYPF, marks the start of a long-term collaboration between the partners to scale nature restoration across the UK.

The partners said their focus is to demonstrate how institutional capital can directly fund landscape-scale restoration, treating biodiversity and watershed health as critical national infrastructure.

Together, Rebalance Earth and Restore will deliver projects that restore ecosystems, strengthen climate resilience, and unlock long-term value for businesses, communities and investors.

Rob Gardner, CEO of Rebalance Earth, said: “We are delighted to be working with [Restore founder] Benedict Macdonald and Restore. Benedict is not only an accomplished nature documentary maker and award-winning author, but also one of the UK’s leading nature restorers. He and his team bring unparalleled knowledge, experience, and practical skill to the challenge of restoring ecosystems at scale.

“By partnering with Restore, we are excited to combine that expertise with our investment approach to accelerate nature recovery and help position the UK as the fastest recovering nature country in the world.”

Restore founder and director Macdonald said: “At Restore we have been seeking a pioneer partner on this journey, as we continue to scale England’s largest investible natural capital portfolio of rewilding sites. Quite simply, Rebalance Earth is that partner. The team are not only immensely impressive, but their constant pushing of financial boundaries to unlock real capital for nature bridges the gap between Restore’s ambitions and financial reality. It is a privilege to partner with Rebalance to scale nature restoration across the UK.”

Rebalance founder Gardner added that “until now, funding has been a major obstacle for landowners wishing to restore their land at scale”.

“Through this new investment model, backed by West Yorkshire Pension Fund, Restore can now upfront finance all of the restoration activities: covering set-up costs, undertaking ecological baselining, devising detailed management plans, and full project delivery. By removing these upfront barriers, this innovative model enables restoration to progress at pace and scale,” Rebalance added.

This latest joint venture follows Rebalance Earth’s partnership with Oyster Heaven, a marine restoration company Oyster Heaven. Rebalance Earth will provide capital to enable Oyster Heaven to develop the infrastructure and capacity needed to restore oyster reefs “at scale”.

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