Pierluigi Pagliuca

Marking the first deal in the commercial forestry sector for Blackfinch, the investment will create local job opportunities, and is expected to improve local air and soil quality, reduce flood risk and increase biodiversity.

Previously used for livestock, the 650 hectare site in Dumfries & Galloway will now be used for commercial forestation, and will also contribute to the government’s plans for future woodland expansion to cover 21% of Scotland by 2032.

Commenting on the deal Pierluigi Pagliuca (PG), senior legal counsel at Blackfinch, said it was reflective of the company’s ongoing commitment to investment in projects that would enhance local communities, and which are aligned to the firm’s own environmental, social and governance (ESG) values.

PG added: “We are delighted to have been able to assist the borrower with this acquisition, and to have provided finance that will facilitate the reforestation of a large area of land which ticks a number of boxes from an environmental and a social perspective.

“This is our first loan deal in this sector, and we are particularly pleased to have overcome various hurdles in order to satisfy all legal and commercial due diligence, and to achieve completion in less than a month to enable the purchase to go through.

“We look forward to developing our relationship with the borrower, and to continuing to invest in projects that enhance local communities, create local job opportunities, and that are aligned to our own environmental, social and governance (ESG) values at Blackfinch.”

In addition to creating commercial forestry jobs in Dumfries & Galloway, the planned reforestation of the land will also support the continued use of timber as a more environmentally friendly building material in the domestic and international markets.

Timber and woodland are widely perceived as critical elements of low/zero carbon planning and provide excellent carbon sequestration, helping to reduce the impact of climate change.