INVL Asset Management, one of the largest asset management companies in the Baltics, has established the INVL Sustainable Timberland and Farmland Fund II (STAFF II). An initial offering of the fund raised EUR 32.45 million from private investors. The target size is EUR 100 million. The fund will invest in sustainably managed forests and agricultural land in the Baltic Sea region and Central and Eastern Europe.
The new INVL fund is registered in Luxembourg and is administered by Apex Group, one of the biggest providers of fund services in Europe. The STAFF II is intended for institutional and private investors from EU countries.
“We see this fund as a continuation of the INVL Baltic Forests Fund I which started in 2017, but more universal and much broader in geography. The experience we gained and investors’ trust encouraged us to realize the idea of creating long-term portfolios of top-quality forests and agricultural land and managing them according to the strictest standards of sustainable forestry and agriculture. In acting on those goals we did not set any time frame for the fund – its length is unlimited,” said Vytautas Plunksnis, Head of Private Equity at INVL Asset Management.
He said the fund’s maximum size will be limited and may not exceed EUR 200 million, though its investor composition may change as some of its participants take advantage of the right to leave the fund within a certain period of time and others take their place.
“We’ll start the fund’s activities ‘closer to home’, looking for acquisitions in the Baltic countries. We will invest in Baltic coniferous forests and agricultural land with a high level of productivity and big consolidation potential. Later we plan to expand the portfolio in Eastern EU countries where investment returns are attractive and the regulatory environment is stable. We will heavily emphasize sustainable management of the forests and arable land, considering not just nature conservation but also social responsibility in investing in these asset classes. The fund will operate according to sustainable forestry standards, and we will implement sustainable farming principles on the agricultural land,” noted Martynas Samulionis, a partner of the INVL Sustainable Timberland and Farmland Fund II.
The STAFF II fund is regulated and will operate according to the laws of Luxembourg and will invest in different countries in keeping with the regulatory limits set by those countries but without deviating from the fund’s strategy. Currently the fund is not registered for public distribution in the Republic of Lithuania.
About INVL Asset Management
INVL Asset Management, one of Lithuania’s leading asset management companies, is part of the Invalda INVL group. The group’s companies manage pension and mutual funds, individual portfolios, private equity and other alternative investments. They have more than EUR 1 billion of assets under management, entrusted to them by over 200,000 clients in Lithuania and Latvia as well as international investors. Established in 1991, Invalda INVL has 28 years of solid experience managing private equity assets and developing market leaders in the Baltic States and the region of Central and Eastern Europe.
About Apex Group
Apex Group Ltd., established in Bermuda in 2003, is a global financial services provider. With 45 offices worldwide and 4,000 employees, Apex delivers an extensive range of services to asset managers, capital markets, private clients and family offices. The Group has continually improved and evolved its capabilities to offer a single-source solution through establishing the broadest range of products in the industry; including fund services, digital onboarding and bank accounts, depositary, custody and super ManCo services, corporate services and capital markets services, business services including HR and Payroll and a pioneering ESG Ratings and Advisory service for private companies.
