Derwent Water, Keswick, Lake District, Cumbria
Photographer: Mj on Unsplash

Groes Inn, Conwy, North Wales
Photographer: Dean Ward on Unsplash

Jurassic Coast, Dorchester, Dorset
Photographer: Red Morley Hewitt on Unsplash

Brockenhurst, Hampshire
Photographer: Robert Bye on Unsplash

Helping visionary people restore our natural environment

About the Fund

A partnership between:

The UK Nature Impact Fund (‘UK Nature’) is a pioneering investment platform targeting high-quality projects directed at the recovery of biodiversity across the UK.

Its first investment vehicle, the Big Nature Impact Fund LP, finances nature restoration projects in England, seeking to generate long-term revenues by selling credits in the UK’s nature markets. The Big Nature Impact Fund reached a first close of £64.6 million in May 2026 and is currently fundraising towards a final target of £90-120 million.

Read the full announcement here.

Why the UK Nature Impact Fund exists

The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world with an estimated £56bn funding gap this decade to achieve its environmental targets, including climate change mitigation, adaptation and biodiversity loss reversal.

About the fund

£56bn

estimated funding gap this decade to achieve UK environmental targets 1Source: The Finance Gap for UK Nature, Green Finance Institute, July 2021

15x

estimated increase in global demand for voluntary carbon credits by 2030 2Source: Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets, January 2021
What the UK Government says is needed by 2050 to meet its legal net zero commitments:

1.5m ha

New forest cover

0.7-1.11m ha

Restored peatland

0.5m ha

New or restored biodiverse habitat

We invest directly into nature restoration projects that generate income through the sale of a range of ‘ecosystem services’ – i.e. the contributions that functioning natural habitats make towards human wellbeing, social and economic activity, and quality of life.

We also invest into impactful companies whose business models either directly or indirectly support the recovery of the natural environment.

Investing in Nature-based Solutions ('NbS')

‘Nature-based Solutions’ are ecological initiatives that restore, maintain and utilise natural ecosystems such as woodlands, wetlands and meadows for the benefit of people and biodiversity. They are a form of ‘natural capital’ and are also known as ‘nature-based infrastructure’ or ‘nature-based real assets’.

 

Project development

We are actively seeking to finance high-quality nature-based projects across the UK.

Our aim is to establish partnerships that seek to deliver tangible long-term benefits for local people and local economies, while generating attractive risk-adjusted returns for investors.

Landowners, land managers and communities

UK Nature actively supports impactful nature restoration projects capable of generating long-term income for landowners, land managers and communities through a range of mechanisms:

  • Regular payments for land access
  • Joint venture agreements
  • Share of carbon and/or biodiversity market revenues or profits
  • Payments for project delivery and management services
  • Land purchase
About the fund

Private, philanthropic and public sector developers

UK Nature can support delivery partners from across the public, private and philanthropic sectors, including environmental NGOs, to develop high-quality projects across their full life cycle. This support includes funding for:

  • Designing investment-ready nature restoration projects, especially in afforestation, peatland restoration and Biodiversity Net Gain
  • Delivery (including restoration and ongoing management) of NbS projects in the same markets
About the fund

Owners and managers of nature-positive businesses

UK Nature can invest in established SMEs operating in the UK’s nature restoration sector value chain or whose operations or technologies, goals and services contribute directly or indirectly to improving terrestrial environments:

  • Providing long-term expansion capital, experience and collaborative expertise
  • Enabling the scaling of sustainable, high-impact business models across the UK
  • Providing access to commercial networks across the UK and globally
About the fund

Interested in developing a project with us?

+44 (0) 203 637 9834

Phone us

For buyers of carbon credits & biodiversity units

UK Nature only engages with projects that adhere to standards derived from transparent and consensus-based science, robust and independently administered validation and verification frameworks, and that are trusted by buyers of carbon credits and biodiversity units.

Register interest

Targeted Investments

UK Nature will only invest in established nature markets characterised by trusted, independent market frameworks endorsed and financed by the UK Government and devolved administrations. The UK’s markets for carbon and biodiversity are widely recognised as among the highest integrity natural capital markets in the world.

Woodland creation

Providing project finance for biodiverse woodland creation projects

We invest in UK woodland creation projects eligible for registration under the Woodland Carbon Code. We prioritise planting mixed native woodlands to promote biodiversity alongside carbon sequestration benefits. We will also consider investing in planting schemes that include commercial timber production where appropriate, following the mantra of ‘the right tree in the right place’.

We finance across the life cycle of project activity including project development, restoration and long-term maintenance. We prioritise leasehold, joint ventures and other long term contractual models with existing landowners over land acquisition, working with land managers to generate alignment by providing long term income opportunities for them whilst seeking to generate financial returns for our investors. We can acquire land where it passes our social impact screening process.

Peatland restoration

Providing project finance for the restoration and long-term maintenance of degraded peatlands in the UK

We invest in UK peatland restoration projects that are eligible for registration under the Peatland Code.

As with woodland projects, we finance across the life cycle of project activity including project development, restoration and long-term maintenance, and prioritise leasehold, joint ventures and other contractual models with existing landowners, but we can purchase land where it passes our impact screening process.

Biodiversity Net Gain

Providing project finance for projects that create, restore or enhance habitats

We can invest in projects that generate revenues through the sale of ‘biodiversity units’ to property and infrastructure developers seeking to satisfy Biodiversity Net Gain (“BNG”) policy requirements in England. The BNG legislation requires all new planning applications to offset the impact on biodiversity of a proposed development and deliver an additional minimum 10% biodiversity gain, calculated by applying the Statutory Biodiversity Metric developed by Defra.

We can provide project financing for the creation, restoration, enhancement and maintenance of BNG projects.

Nature Market Supply Chain

Providing expansion capital to UK businesses operating across the growing nature restoration supply chain

We invest in UK-based SMEs that can address key capacity gaps in the nature restoration supply chain to support the delivery and management of high-integrity NbS across the UK.

We provide patient expansion capital to revenue-generating businesses aligned with our mission that provide goods or services into UK nature markets. These may include:

  • Nature restoration contractors and project developers
  • Brokers, intermediaries and aggregators
  • Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) businesses
  • Tree, plant and sphagnum moss nurseries
  • Nature tech businesses including hardware and software providers and service companies

UK Nature is developed with support from the UK Government

The UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has committed £30 million seed investment into UK Nature (via the Big Nature Impact Fund) to help crowd in private investors.

About us

UK Nature is managed by Environmental Finance Limited, trading as Finance Earth, an award-winning fund manager and social enterprise, specialising in environmental impact investment and advisory services.

Finance Earth is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Registration No. 831569).

Science and Impact Advisory Panel (SIAP)

Comprising leading scientists and academics with expertise across the natural and social sciences, the SIAP is a unique feature of the UK Nature proposition providing independent advice and insights on potential investment opportunities, as well as on developments in environmental science relevant to the Fund’s portfolio.

Our team

The UK Nature Investment team combines specialist investment, analytical, data science and project management expertise.

Meet the team

Do you need finance for your project or business?

If you like the sound of what we do and have an exciting nature restoration project or business that needs support, please contact us.

+44 (0) 203 637 9834