Stafford Closes Flagship Timberland Fund Exceeding USD 1bn Fundraising Target
London, 17 March 2025 – Stafford Capital Partners (“Stafford”) has successfully closed its flagship timberland fund, Stafford International Timberland Fund X (SIT X), at USD 1.04 billion, surpassing its USD 1 billion target. As the largest dedicated secondaries timberland fund raised to date, SIT X reinforces Stafford’s position as a global leader in sustainable timberland investments.
In addition, the fund attracted co-investment, bringing the total amount raised to over USD 1.1 billion USD. The fund received significant backing from existing investors, with 72% of those who had previously invested in Stafford’s predecessor fund, SIT IX, reinvesting. The investor base includes 13 institutional investors, primarily pension schemes (91%), an insurance company and an investment trust. Investors also came from a wide geographical base with 48% of commitments coming from the UK, 23% coming from Germany, 19% from Korea and 10% from North America.
Stafford has already committed over USD 330 million to five investments, covering 27 sustainably managed timberland assets, with a land size of 1 million hectares. These new investments add to Stafford's total timberland portfolio, with the portfolio estimated to have sequestered ~16 Mt CO2e between 2023 and 2024[1]. These investments represent 31-34% of deployed capital in SIT X. With a strong pipeline, including a pending USD 140 million transaction, Stafford expects to have USD 470 million of capital invested in the coming weeks.
Commenting Angus Whiteley, CEO of Stafford Capital Partners, said: "Timberland is the bedrock of the emerging Natural Capital asset class. As a stable, yielding real asset it delivers returns to investors whilst positively addressing the long-term climate risk which is present in all asset classes. Stafford's approach to accessing the asset class through secondaries is compelling, accessing assets that otherwise do not come to market and delivering a portfolio that is well diversified by geography, species and age class. The close of SIT X above its target of $1 billion shows how institutions have recognised this. We are very grateful for their support."
Commenting further Stephen Addicott, Co-Managing Partner at Stafford Capital Partners, added: "SIT X has been a really successful fund raising for Stafford. Over the course of this fundraising period, we have witnessed the growing consolidation of the asset class as a strategic investment and climate solution for institutional investors. The scale of the fund, combined with our experience in complex secondary transactions allows us to offer investors access to well-established, high-quality timberland portfolios while maintaining attractive risk-adjusted returns."
[1] Stafford’s total timberland portfolio was estimated to annually sequester 15.9 Mt CO2e in 2023/2024. As reported in Stafford’s 2023/2024 Annual Sustainability Report.
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About Stafford Capital Partners
Stafford is an independent private markets investment and advisory firm with USD %%AuM%% billion (as at %%AuMDate%%) in assets under management and advice for more than %%numClients%% institutional clients worldwide. Founded in 2000, Stafford has a global team of 85+ professionals investing in infrastructure, timberland & agriculture, and sustainable private equity through secondaries, primaries, and co-investments. Stafford is UN PRI signatory and is committed to the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) Initiative. It implements an RI Policy across all strategies. In the UK, Stafford is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 225586).