Natural Capital
Our Natural Capital team advises landowners, developers, investors and intermediaries on the legal frameworks shaping environmental markets in England and Wales — from biodiversity net gain and nutrient neutrality to carbon credits and habitat banking.
Led by Sam Knight, the team brings deep real estate expertise to this fast-evolving area. Whether you are structuring a habitat bank, navigating BNG compliance on a development site, or investing in natural capital for the first time, we deliver the same commercially focused, pragmatic advice our clients have come to expect from Merali Beedle.
Since February 2024, all major developments in England must deliver a minimum 10% biodiversity net gain, with obligations secured for at least 30 years. This has created both regulatory complexity and significant commercial opportunity — and our team is positioned to help clients on both sides of the equation.
We provide a full range of advice on Natural Capital, in particular:
- Biodiversity net gain — advising on mandatory and voluntary BNG compliance, habitat bank structuring and unit allocation agreements
- Nutrient neutrality and water neutrality — credit purchase agreements, wetland creation schemes and mitigation strategies in affected catchment areas
- Carbon credits and offsetting — structuring and documenting woodland creation, peatland restoration and soil carbon offset schemes
- Habitat banks — establishment, corporate structuring of habitat bank vehicles, conservation covenants, operational leases and land management agreements
- Conservation covenants and section 106 agreements — drafting and negotiating the legal agreements that secure long-term habitat creation and maintenance obligations
- Land acquisition and due diligence — title investigation, site due diligence and advising on acquisition vehicles for natural capital schemes
- Credit trading agreements — allocation agreements, credit purchase agreements and forward sale contracts for biodiversity units, carbon credits and nutrient credits
- Landowner agreements — bespoke tenancy agreements, management agreements and licence arrangements enabling natural capital projects alongside agricultural production
- Regulatory compliance — advising on the Environment Act 2021, mandatory BNG regulations, habitats regulations assessments and emerging marine net gain frameworks
- Rewilding and landscape recovery — legal documentation for large-scale habitat restoration and landscape-level environmental projects
- Responsible body applications — advising charities and other bodies on applications to become responsible bodies under the Environment Act 2021
- Project structuring — advising on legal and commercial structures for habitat bank vehicles, intermediary brokerage platforms and multi-stakeholder landscape recovery schemes
Who we advise
We act across the full natural capital ecosystem. Our clients include landowners looking to unlock environmental and financial value from their land, housebuilders and developers seeking BNG compliance and off-site credit solutions, habitat bank operators and intermediary platforms, investors and funds acquiring land for natural capital projects, local planning authorities, and charities applying to become responsible bodies.
