Alternative Outlook

While the stock market bounces around wildly, one alternative investment that sits a safe distance away the world’s financial woes has been doing just fine – a new report shows forest values up 34 per cent over the past year.

Green, sustainable and considered low risk over the medium to long-term, timber sounds like an investors dream, especially when its inheritance tax and capital gains tax free potential is brought into play.

The catch is that most timber investments require a large amount of capital, run for a lengthy period and …

Forestry, which is often seen as a safe investment in uncertain times, is proving an excellent option during the on going financial crisis, according to a report by property consultants Savills and UPM Tilhill.

The Forest Market Report 2011, published yesterday (Tuesday 29 November) in London, says the strength of the forest market over the past 12 months will be no surprise to those in the industry who have long believed in the potential of the underlying investment returns.

It claims that as a medium to long term investment, forest pric…

While the property market might be stagnating, woodland prices have seen a 20 per cent rise over the past 18 months, encouraging more people to buy a copse and watch their investment grow.

Mistrust of banks and an increased interest in generating fuel have combined with the greater attention given to trees since the sell-off of 635,000 acres of Forestry Commission land was abandoned.

Mike Tustin, a chartered forester for John Clegg & Co, said: “This heightened awareness has increased demand for woodland, leading indirectly to higher p…