Arendt & Medernach has helped INVL Asset Management launch the INVL Sustainable Timberland and Farmland Fund II.
The target size for the fund is EUR 100 million after a first close of EUR 32 million from institutional and private investors, with a hard cap positioned at EUR 200 million. The fund is specifically intended to target both institutional and private investors from European countries generally.
These funds will look to target investments into both sustainably managed forests and agricultural farmland in the Baltic Sea region, as well as the neighboring countries of Central and Eastern Europe more broadly.
“We see this fund as an exciting continuation of INVL’s Baltic Forests Fund I which was launched in 2017,” said Head of Private Equity at INVL Vytautas Plunksnis. “However, this time around there will be a much more extensive approach and a broader geographical footing. Further to the experience we have gained and subsequent investor confidence, we have been encouraged to establish longer-term portfolios of top-quality forests and agricultural land assets. We intend to manage and develop them in accordance with the strictest standards of sustainable forestry and agriculture. The fund’s maximum size will be limited however with a hard cap in the region of EUR 200 million, though its investor composition may change over time as some of its participants take advantage of their right to leave the fund within a certain period of time and others replace.”
“We intend to build on our existing pipeline across the Baltic countries more generally,” commented Martynas Samulionis, Partner at the INVL Sustainable Timberland and Farmland Fund II. “We will initially look to invest in Baltic coniferous forests and agricultural land that presents a high level of productivity and significant potential to consolidate. We then plan to expand the portfolio into Eastern European countries where investment returns are attractive, and the regulatory framework environment is stable. As a standard protocol, we will heavily emphasize the sustainable management of both forests and arable land, ensuring nature conservation as a core focus, as well as the social responsibility of investing in these asset classes. The fund will of course function according to sustainable forestry standards, and we will implement sustainable farming principles on the agricultural land as a matter of course.”
Arendt & Medernach did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.