UniSuper in major Tasmanian forestry investment

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

5 October 2023

One of Australia’s largest industry superannuation funds, UniSuper has joined with UK and Dutch pension funds to invest in a forestry plantation.

UniSuper has announced that it has joined with the UK’s Pension Protection Fund (PPF), and APG Asset Management N.V (APG) on behalf of its Dutch pension fund client ABP, to acquire   Forico and a 170,000-hectare plantation forestry estate in Tasmania, from a New Forests managed fund.

The announcement said Forico is Tasmania’s largest private forest management company. The forestry estate is one of Australia’s largest plantation hardwood estates by productive area and consists of vertically integrated assets and operations spanning approximately 90,000 hectares of productive plantation forest. It also owns key infrastructure along the supply chain consisting of two wood processing mills, a seedling nursery, fibre technology laboratory, and port access via a freehold facility at Long Reach, Tasmania.

Under the agreement, the three investors will each own 33% of Forico and the forestry estate. New Forests will be retained to provide investment management services.

Commenting on the transaction, UniSuper head of Private Markets, Sandra Lee said the fund was delighted to be investing in an asset of scale and quality.