The forestry investment market in 2025

Over recent years, growing demand for sustainable materials, nature-based solutions, and a continued focus on woodland creation have helped generate positive market momentum

This is supported by policy commitments: in England, the Environmental Improvement Plan provides the delivery framework for the Environment Act 2021, outlining how statutory environmental targets will be met, while the devolved administrations have set long-term goals for nature recovery and woodland expansion. Advances in forest management, alongside growing recognition of the many benefits trees provide, further reinforce this positive trajectory. Against this, headwinds include complex regulation, weak timber prices, rising operational costs, and continued lethargy in the wider economy, fuelled by global uncertainty.

However, despite this backdrop, we expect commercial forestry to remain a resilient asset class. While subdued in the short term, macro-level demand for timber remains high, and the 10-year outlook is positive. From carbon credits and biodiversity markets to recreation, agroforestry and renewable energy, new income streams continue to offer promise but can take time to realise.

Investor interest in forests continued in 2025, but economic caution meant many held back on capital deployment, looking for a trigger that never materialised. This delayed the recovery in buyer activity and the market remained quiet, although the price declines we saw in 2023 and 2024 appear to have softened throughout 2025, with some deals done at reasonable prices. Regional influences in values were exacerbated, emphasising the importance of location in property markets. And, as it was in 2025, the outlook for 2026 will be linked to wider global economic trends.

This Spotlight reports on the performance of the UK forestry investment market during the 2025 forest year (1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025). It assesses progress towards tree planting targets and explores how planting behaviour may impact future timber markets. It also examines climate change impacts on UK woodlands, and the forward-looking research being undertaken to strengthen resilience and long-term sustainability.

Total market and area

Our research into the UK commercial forestry market is based on our database of all forest sales over 50 hectares, including off-market transactions where known.

The 2025 forest year saw forestry sales reach a record £304.4 million (figure 1). Market activity was influenced by a portfolio transaction, which, despite representing only one sale, accounted for 43% of the total value traded. Excluding this and a handful of larger transactions, the underlying market value was around £150 million, a figure that exceeds the total annual value of sales in each of the previous two years and aligns with a 10-year average of £157 million.

These large sales took the total land area sold during the 2025 forest year to 18,100 hectares – well above the 10-year average of 16,000 hectares. Excluding these significant sales, just under 11,000 hectares changed hands, compared to 8,600 hectares in the 2024 forest year, demonstrating clear year-on-year improvement.

Commercial forestry values

Forests include non-productive areas such as protected habitats, archaeological features, public access routes, and very steep slopes or wetlands unsuitable for planting. In investment forestry, it is therefore normal to consider the value of the net productive area.

While average prices per hectare provide a useful benchmark, care must be taken when interpreting this data, as it hides regional and local variations. Forestry values are diverse and price is dependent on a range of factors, including location, accessibility, tree species, average age and timber volume, as covered in our ‘Regional focus’ section below.

Figure 2 illustrates the exceptional growth in average forestry prices in the decade leading up to the peak in 2022, during which prices quadrupled. Although prices have since fallen, they remain 2.5 times higher than in 2016.

A further fall in the overall average price of forests traded was witnessed across the UK during 2025, with the average gross price decreasing by 15.5% from around £15,500 per hectare in the 2024 forest year. The average net productive price per hectare fell by 13.5% from around £21,500 in 2024. This analysis is based on the properties traded and is therefore influenced by location and other attributes. As a result, regional averages are more informative, as pricing diverged increasingly between prime and outlying areas, with some parts of the country showing little or no fall in average value.

Regional focus

Scotland

Scotland accounted for 95% of the commercial forestry hectares sold across the UK during the 2025 forest year. This figure is higher than the 10-year average of 88% and highlights the very small size of the market in England and Wales.

For the fifth consecutive year, market activity was strongest in Central Scotland. This was significantly influenced by the large stand-out sales, with the region accounting for 56% of the total area sold across the UK. When excluding these sales, the area sold is consistent with the 4,300 hectares transacted during 2024. Despite the strong market, Central Scotland was impacted by the location of sales and the region’s varied land types, resulting in a broad range of prices.

The total hectares sold in North Scotland doubled in 2025, rising from 1,600 hectares in 2024. However, increasing costs impacted profitability, and average prices in North Scotland fell for the second consecutive year after a period of significant growth.

South Scotland’s share of the total UK forestry sales increased from 13% during 2024 to 22% during 2025. This is slightly lower than the region’s 10-year average of 28%, but a welcome increase in what is traditionally the most important area for forestry investment. Excluding the larger sales, South Scotland represents 32% of the total forestry area sold across the UK. Average prices in this region rose for the first time since the market peaked in 2022.

England

England recorded only a small number of commercial property sales during the 2025 year, totalling just under 500 hectares. This compares to a 10-year average of around 900 hectares. The small number of sales in England meant activity levels were too low to extrapolate the impact on prices.

Wales

The number of hectares sold in Wales during 2025 reduced by half to just under 400 hectares compared to a 10-year average of almost 1,000 hectares. Despite the reduced market size, the few sales reported indicated a rise in prices during the 2025 forest year.

Off-market sales

We estimate around 21% of all properties were sold off-market during 2025, below the 10-year average of 25% and the lowest proportion since 2019. Figure 3 shows properties were quicker to sell in 2025 compared to 2024.

Overseas investments: A landmark cross-border forestry sale in Portugal and Spain

Savills, acting on behalf of DS Smith, has completed the sale of 870 hectares of FSC-certified sustainable forest in Portugal. Spanning the Braganca and Alentejo regions, the forest includes a mix of pine, cork, oak, and eucalyptus plantations. The buyer for the majority was Antarr, a Portuguese natural capital and forestry enterprise focused on investing in biodiverse and productive landscapes, with the remainder purchased by a timber company.

This transaction marks the first part of a landmark cross-border forestry initiative offering a total of 2,695 hectares of sustainably managed woodland across Portugal and Spain. These forests represent a rare combination of environmental stewardship and commercial forestry, designed to meet both ecological and investment criteria in an evolving market for natural capital and forest preservation.

_{Read the articles within The Forestry Market – 2026 below.}