UK Forestry returns up for fifth consecutive year says AAA


Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA) have announced that forestry investment returns in the UK have exceeded other major markets, such as commercial property, over the past year.

Boston, MA, USA, June 28, 2011 -- Investors in UK commercial forests have learnt this week that returns exceeded other major markets, such as commercial property, over the past year, explained Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA).

The alternative investment analysis organization said that the increased returns were great news for the international demand for alternatives - proving that ethical investments can also be lucrative ones.

The IPD UK Forestry Index shows that returns for 2010 reached 20 per cent, which is the highest rate since 2007. Strong demand was behind the growth in returns, according to the analysts at IPD.

AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson explained, “Strong demand from all sectors meant that forestry investment in the UK was protected from the downturn, which affected many other similar assets over the period."

Analysts at AAA added that forestry has also performed well as an asset in developing countries such as Brazil, where the government is encouraging foreign investment in plantations run by businesses like Greenwood Management, which are homing in on the opportunities created by demand from China, India and the domestic steel industry.

The IPD UK Forestry Index sponsors’ committee talked about why the asset is so lucrative for investors, "The UK’s commercial forests are a unique renewable asset. The growth of competing demands for both sustainably grown wood products and for wood based energy and heat generation underpin their value.”

They continued, "Forests have a key role to play in carbon capture and sustainable development. This value will be realised on a sustainable basis only if UK government policies balance the interests of the owners of forests and competing wood using sectors."

IPD's analysts commented that timber prices were up by 38.5 per cent in the year to March 2011 and that the returns investors should expect are closely linked to these prices. AAA explained that timber prices have risen globally and are up significantly in the US and Canada where demand for timber from emerging economies is quickly exceeding supply. This level of demand is only expected to rise even faster in the coming years - leading to a widely held expectation that timber prices will also grow further, along with the need to for sustainably produced timber.

Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-959

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