Stafford Capital Partners on Agri Investor's Deal of the Year: What Olympic Rainforest Reveals About Natural Capital Investing
We were delighted to partner with Climate Asset Management, EFM and a wider investor consortium to acquire a 68,000-acre timberland asset in Washington State's Olympic Peninsula. Project Olympic Rainforest was recognised this year as Agri Investor's Deal of the Year, and Stephen Addicott, our co-Managing Partner, sat down with the team to go over the transaction.
The discussion highlighted growing recognition of natural as a core real assets strategy, while carbon finance is evolving into a credible complementary revenue stream within forestry, supported by the emergence of long-term carbon credit offtake agreements.
Key topics included:
Nature as an investable asset: Sustainably managed core timberland is a natural component of a natural capital allocation, recognising nature as an asset that provides essential ecosystem services while seeking long-term financial returns.
Diversification, not dependence: Carbon and conservation revenues typically provide upside and diversification rather than acting as the principal return driver, which we consider to be a disciplined approach while these markets continue to develop.
Multiple sources of value creation: Timberland assets seek to generate value through a combination of biological timber growth, timber harvesting and emerging carbon markets. In Olympic Rainforest, standing timber volume is expected to increase by more than 40%* during the hold period, while carbon finance provides an additional source of value, supported by long-term carbon offtake agreements that enhance revenue visibility and demand certainty.
*Source: Stephen Addicott, Agri Investor Annual Review 2026, "Putting Natural Capital on the Podium", March 2026.
