Investment & Acquisitions
Advice from initial investment strategy and property search through assessment, negotiation and completion.
Investment & Acquisitions
WEB Forestry Ltd
Forestry investment, acquisition and asset management
Independent, personally led advice for private clients, family offices, companies and institutional investors acquiring, owning and developing forestry assets across the UK.
Independent forestry advice
Direct advice throughout forestry ownership
WEB Forestry is led by William Burfitt BSc(Hons) MICFor, a Chartered Forester with more than 20 years of experience across commercial forestry, acquisitions, woodland creation, timber, woodland carbon and portfolio asset management.
Clients deal directly with William before, during and after acquisition. The focus is to understand what is being acquired, what the asset is capable of, the likely costs and risks of ownership, and the management structure required for the long term.
The advice combines practical forestry knowledge with commercial judgement and direct experience of substantial forestry assets and portfolios.
Advisory services
Forestry advice built around the owner
Asset Management
Independent oversight of forestry strategy, income, expenditure, timber, carbon, management performance and major ownership decisions.
Asset Management
Independent Forestry Consultancy
Commercial and technical advice for purchasers, owners and professional advisers requiring an experienced second view on a forestry asset or particular decision.
Discuss an instruction
Management & Professional Team
Support in appointing the right forest manager and specialist advisers while retaining an independent owner-side perspective.
How WEB Forestry worksIndependent consultancy
An experienced second view
Not every instruction begins with a search for a new forestry asset.
WEB Forestry provides independent commercial and technical advice to purchasers, existing owners, agents and professional advisers where an experienced forestry view is required.
This may include purchase appraisal, market and pricing context, crop and timber assessment, future expenditure, management requirements, woodland carbon, due diligence or negotiation support.
The objective is straightforward: to help the client understand the forestry position before making a significant decision.
Where a formal valuation, legal opinion, taxation advice or regulated financial advice is required, WEB Forestry works alongside the appropriate qualified professional.
Investment & acquisitions
Finding the right asset, not simply an available asset
A forestry acquisition should begin with the client’s objectives rather than the sales particulars.
WEB Forestry helps establish the acquisition brief, review suitable opportunities and assess each property on its own merits.
That assessment considers the forestry itself, but also timber, access, infrastructure, future expenditure, carbon, management requirements and the wider potential of the property.
01 — Define
Establish the objectives, geography, budget, asset type, time horizon and ownership priorities.
02 — Source
Review marketed opportunities and appropriate potential off-market properties.
03 — Assess
Consider the crop, timber, access, infrastructure, expenditure, carbon, risks and management requirements.
04 — Acquire
Support the client and their professional advisers through negotiation, due diligence and completion.
Clients
Advice for private, family and corporate capital
Private clients and families
Independent forestry investment, acquisition and ownership advice for individuals and families.
Family offices and private capital
Acquisition, asset review and long-term management advice aligned with ownership and governance objectives.
Companies and corporate owners
Forestry advice for businesses considering productive land, timber, carbon and natural capital within a wider long-term strategy.
Existing owners and institutional investors
Independent asset management, acquisition support and portfolio advice for established forestry holdings.
WEB Forestry works alongside the client’s legal, tax, financial and corporate advisers where specialist advice is required.
Asset management
Established forestry asset-management experience
WEB Forestry provides asset-management and portfolio-oversight services for substantial forestry assets.
The role sits at owner or investor level, reviewing the strategic and commercial performance of the asset while the appointed forest manager and specialist contractors undertake day-to-day operations.
Strategy & Performance
Reviewing objectives, budgets, income, expenditure and the long-term direction of the asset.
Management Oversight
Reviewing management proposals, costs, reporting and delivery from the owner’s perspective.
Timber, Carbon & Wider Value
Considering timber, carbon and other opportunities as connected parts of the wider forestry asset.
WEB Forestry can provide strategic asset management and owner representation without replacing the appointed day-to-day forest manager.
Beyond timber
Maximising the value of the whole asset
A forestry asset is more than the standing crop.
Asset-management review considers the wider property, identifying opportunities, liabilities and decisions that may affect long-term value.
Where specialist advice is required, WEB Forestry brings in the appropriate professional rather than attempting to provide every discipline in-house.
- Timber
- Woodland carbon
- Access and infrastructure
- Renewables
- Wayleaves and utilities
- Buildings and planning
- Grants and environmental income
- Strategic land opportunities
Woodland carbon
Carbon within the forestry strategy
Woodland carbon can materially affect the value, flexibility and long-term management of a forestry asset.
WEB Forestry advises on the interaction between forestry, timber and carbon, including existing commitments, future potential, delivery risk and implications for long-term ownership.
For businesses with material emissions or wider natural-capital objectives, forestry ownership may form part of a broader corporate strategy.
Specialist carbon capability can be brought in where required.
Independent advice
Personally led, professionally connected
Every WEB Forestry instruction is led by William.
WEB Forestry is independent of selling agents, forest managers, contractors, timber buyers and carbon developers.
This allows each opportunity or recommendation to be considered from the client’s perspective, with the professional team built around the requirements of the asset.
WEB Forestry’s established professional network includes experienced forest managers, surveyors, solicitors, tax advisers, accountants, valuers, engineers, ecologists, timber businesses and other specialist advisers.
William Burfitt BSc(Hons) MICFor
Forestry experience applied to the owner’s objectives
William Burfitt is a Chartered Forester with more than 20 years of experience in UK forestry.
His career spans commercial forest management, forestry investment, acquisitions, woodland creation, timber harvesting, woodland carbon and portfolio asset management.
He spent a substantial part of his career with Tilhill Forestry, gaining practical and commercial experience across the forestry lifecycle.
William now advises on and oversees a substantial privately owned UK forestry portfolio and has also identified and assessed land and forestry opportunities for institutional woodland investment, including off-market acquisitions.
His particular strength lies in connecting technical forestry knowledge with the commercial and ownership objectives of the client.
20+ years
UK forestry experience
Substantial portfolio experience
Asset management and operational oversight
Private and institutional
Acquisition and ownership advice
Client view
“William has been a trusted and highly effective adviser to our forest portfolio for over a decade. His technical expertise, strategic insight and value-driven approach have consistently strengthened the performance of our investments. He is a dependable, pragmatic and results-focused professional whose contribution we value highly.”
Discuss your objectives
Considering an acquisition or reviewing an existing forestry asset?
Speak directly with William about a potential purchase, an existing asset, asset management or an independent forestry opinion.
Contact WilliamWilliam Burfitt BSc(Hons) MICFor
Chartered Forester
WEB Forestry Ltd