Scottish Woodlands

Client Newsletter Autumn 2009

Posted on: 25/11/2009

Our latest client newsletter has just been published, and is now also available for download from here (1.4MB).

The Wildlife & Natural Environment Bill

Posted on: 25/11/2009

The way wild deer are managed in Scotland has come under the Holyrood spotlight as part of a wider review of wildlife legislation. Current deer legislation in Scotland is effectively derived from two Acts, the Deer (Scotland) Act 1959 and the more recent Deer (Scotland) Act 1996, with the latter essentially only updating legislation, making the legal framework 50 years old. After an initial consultation during 2008, Deer Commission for Scotland (DCS) submitted advice to Ministers that current legislation was not 'fit for purpose' and the result is that deer law has been included in the wider review of wildlife law under the current draft Wildlife & Natural Environment Bill.

(Excerpt from an article by Jamie Adamson - Investment & Business Development Manager, Scottish Woodlands)

Complete version available here (PDF download - 50kb).

Floating Pier dramatically reduces highland logging truck journeys

Posted on: 28/08/2009

A new floating pier being used in the North West Highlands will help divert the hauling of around 60,000 tonnes of timber off the Ratagan Pass, a single track road, and away from the small west highland village of Glenelg.

Last week saw the culmination of 4 years development work by Scottish Woodlands Ltd, JST Services and the timber industry in the North West Highlands, when an initial 56 truck loads of round timber were diverted off a single track road and onto the sea in a single working shift. In the first of many shipments from the area, the 1400t ship 'MV Red Duchess' was loaded with logs from the edge of the forest over an integrated floating pier system.

To read more of this news item download the Floating Pier August 2009 Press Release (104KB).

Scottish Woodlands Celebrates 10 years of FSC Certification

Posted on: 22/07/2009

Scottish Woodlands Ltd, the country's leading forest management and contracting business, is celebrating a decade of offering FSC certification through its Resource Manager and Group Scheme arrangements.

Scottish Woodlands Ltd was the first major national player to achieve FSC status in 1999, and helped Grange Fencing to deliver the first UK-sourced FSC certified fencing panel to the launch of United Kingdom Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS) which took place in Central London in May of that year.

To read more of this news item download the FSC July 2009 Press Release (220KB).

Investment Returns from Forestry

Posted on: 23/06/2009

Launched today, the IPD UK Forestry Index shows a return from UK forestry for the year to 31st December 2008 of 7.0%. The index samples returns from commercial forestry subjects in the main timber producing regions of the UK and is contributed to and supported by the majority of the major forest management companies as well as the Forestry Commission. It has been running since 1992 and the index shows the longer term returns of 5.2% from forestry over that 17 year period.

The index presents independent like for like analysis to compare forestry to other asset classes such as commercial property and equities and the 2008 figures shows forestry out-performing both of these sectors.

Forestry continues to find favour with investors seeking to avoid the volatility of other markets and who appreciate the tangible nature of such a land based which should act as a hedge against the possibility of rising inflation in coming years.

Anyone seeking advice on acquiring forestry subjects should speak to any member of the Investment Department. Contact details are listed on the Investment pages.