Biodiversity venture bags six-figure investment

A Lincolnshire company established to provide carbon and biodiversity credits for companies seeking to invest in nature has attracted £600,000 in investment.

rePLANET Wildlife attracted the six-figure sum based on a £2m valuation and with the support of local law firm Shakespeare Martineau.

The firm was set up by majority shareholder Operation Wallacea Limited, otherwise known as Opwall, to help protect and restore areas of high nature value, facilitate uplift in biodiversity and carbon stocks and generate tradeable natural assets, specifically biodiversity and carbon credits.

In order to develop and measure the concept of biodiversity credits, the Wallacea Trust has formed a 50-strong Biodiversity Credit Working Group to establish a method for an international biodiversity credit that could be traded in the same way as a carbon credit.

Opwall director Alexander Tozer said: “This is a really important venture for Opwall; the world is facing two major environmental threats – climate change and species loss, and while many companies want to be able to support nature, there is a lack of a transparent mechanism through which they can do this. This is where biodiversity and carbon credits come in.

“This is a sector that’s growing at pace, and we’re proud to be at the forefront of biodiversity credits.”

Shakespeare Martineau’s Lincoln office provided legal advice on the venture.

Michael Squirrell, corporate partner at Shakespeare Martineau, who led the deal, said: “We’re delighted to support a Lincolnshire-based business make a positive step in combatting climate change.

“As a firm, we are becoming involved increasingly in ESG and net zero projects and with the breadth of knowledge across the firm, we’re well-placed to support organisations such as Opwall who are leading developments in this space.”