Binyamin Ali
Bare agricultural land prices in England and Wales rose from £6,926 per acre in Q1 2021 to £7,875 in Q1 2022 – the highest 12-month price increase since 2014.
The asset class had a positive 2021 as tailwinds gave the industry momentum for attracting investors.
Chief operating officer David Chan believes FarmTogether’s Sustainable Farmland Fund can raise and deploy $200m within 12-18 months.
The Shariah-complaint real assets and project finance vehicle will pursue biogas energy projects in the UK, in a similar strategy to the firm’s predecessors.
The start-up has closed more than $250m in US farmland transactions since its first deal in 2019 and it closed its first global deal in Australia in October 2021.
The firm has been developing its natural capital strategy for the past three years and chose to pursue a listed forestry vehicle in 2021 to accommodate a wider pool of LPs.
The firm re-opened the vehicle in 2020 due to LP demand for exposure to New Zealand’s horticultural products, exports of which have grown by around 7% per annum in the past two decades.
A product of the Environment Act 2021, biodiversity net gain credits are the latest in a line of natural capital benefits to which governments have attached a monetary value.
The asset manager has made a series of commitments in areas such as carbon emissions and deforestation, which will be verified by third parties.
The firm has partnered with utilities multinational Engie to become a founding shareholder in The Shared Wood Company.