Huge Scottish forest sold for £145m to Gresham House investors in 'astronomical' sale

Griffin Forestry Estate, near Aberfeldy in Perthshire, which spans some 5,560 hectares, has been bought by a subsidiary of Gresham House Ltd, a London-based asset management company now owned by a private equity firm headquartered in New York.

Griffin Forestry Estate is made up of three separate woodlands and a windfarm. The land was marketed by Savills in 2023 for offers over £130m given its “exceptional sustainability and income credentials”.

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The sale of Griffin illuminates the demand for Scotland’s asset-rich landscapes and the “astronomical sums” paid by “anonymous corporate investors” for the land, Community Land Scotland said.

Meanwhile, Andy Wightman, Scotland’s land ownership expert, said he believed that Gresham House and its subsidiaries could now be “on track” to become Scotland’s second-largest landowner following the Griffin deal, with his latest research into the company due.

Mr Wightman said: “It is a unique property as it is so huge and has such valuable assets. This is a straightforward commercial transaction where £145m is deemed to be the price worth paying for that future stream of revenue from windpower and timber.”

Griffin Forestry Estate was originally part of the Grandtully Estate and was earlier owned by Guy Hands, an investment manager and former chairman of record company EMI.

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The new owner is Gresham House FF VI LLP, a limited liability partnership between Gresham House Initial Partner Ltd and Gresham House Forest Fund VI LP, a Scottish Limited Partnership that includes City of Cardiff Pension Fund, Swansea Council Pension Fund and Gresham House Ltd among its limited partners.

Dr Josh Doble, director of policy and advocacy at Community Land Scotland , said the sale was another “concerning example of landownership concentrating in Scotland into the hands of anonymous corporate investors”.

He said: “This sale also sets the remarkable and quite unbelievable precedent that an average sized Highland estate can sell for astronomical sums, which seem completely removed from the reality of many Highland communities who are in dire need of investment in local housing, travel infrastructure and local services.

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“This disparity raises the serious question of who is benefiting from Scotland's natural resources and how a remote corporate entity such as Gresham House can justify an apparent investment of £145 million in a Highland estate, and how much of that investment will be benefiting the local area.”

Dr Doble said he hoped the new owners would “closely and meaningfully engage” with the local community about their plans for the estate and what benefits would be shared with the local community.

In February last year, Olly Hughes, managing director of Gresham House, appeared before the net zero, energy and transport committee at Holyrood and told MSPs the company did “not own any land directly under the name of Gresham House”.

However, it is understood the firm and its subsidiaries are namd as General Partner in a number of Scottish Limited Partnerships (SLP) - legal entities which can own land.

A spokesperson for Gresham House said: “As one of the UK’s leading natural capital investors, Gresham House has a long track record in sustainable forestry management, delivering financial and environmental benefits while directly supporting the Scottish Government’s growth ambitions and the Climate Change Committee’s call to double tree planting over the next two decades.”