A UK-based rewilding company has raised £40 million ($52 mln) in a seed funding round, with investors including insurance giant Aviva, it announced Thursday.

Nattergal said investment firm Lansdowne Partners, one of its co-founders, led the round. The amount each company contributed has not been disclosed.

“Aviva’s investment is an endorsement of Nattergal’s commercial mode to leverage private finance to deliver nature restoration, and a clear indication that nature can and will be made an investable asset class,” Archie Struthers, CEO of Nattergal told Carbon Pulse.

Claudine Blamey, chief sustainability officer at Aviva, has joined the board of Nattergal as an advisor.

“Investing in Nattergal supports an important element of Aviva’s sustainability ambition, to protect and restore biodiversity through nature-based solutions,” said Blamey in a statement.

“I’m looking forward to contributing to their gold-standard approach to delivering nature restoration at scale.”

Aviva’s money came from its venture capital fund, Aviva Ventures, in a move that builds on its commitment to restore biodiversity, said a joint press release.

The insurer’s investment aligns with its broader sustainability objectives, as the company pushes towards a net-zero by 2040 target.

Aviva has funded other nature restoration projects this year, including £21 mln for saltmarsh restoration partnership and a grassland restoration initiative in Canada.

The announcement follows Barclays bank unveiling a partnership focused on biodiversity net gain (BNG) with conservation company Environment Bank last week.

Nattergal aims to deliver nature recovery at scale in England through the sale of ecosystem restoration services across carbon, BNG, and nutrients.

The UK policy of BNG has required developers to plan to deliver 10% biodiversity net gain since February. The policy has had numerous teething issues such as accusations of calls to remove policy exemptions and slow approval of projects.

However, the engagement of large players such as Aviva in BNG-related companies indicates the market is gaining traction.

The seed funding round will facilitate nature restoration work at Nattergal’s existing three sites, Struthers said. The company already owns projects in Essex, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk. It aims to have 20-30 initiatives globally within five years.

“Nattergal’s projects will deliver a range of benefits to local communities, ranging from improved soil function, and potential flood reduction, to access to nature, and local employment opportunities,” Struthers said.

The UK has significant opportunities for investment in line with the country’s 30% by 2030  commitment, Aviva and Nattergal said.

By Thomas Cox – t.cox@carbon-pulse.com

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