Jeremy Leggett: lead role

Highlands Rewilding has secured £1 million through its crowdfunding campaign which aims to promote mass ownership and restoration of unspoiled land.

The company enables “citizen rewilders” to invest from between £50 and £200,000 to co-own rewilding land, earning a potential 5% return.

Of the 622 investors who have so far backed the campaign, 43% live in Scotland. The company hopes to achieve 1,000 investors by the time it closes on 16 May. Larger investors have also joined forces to raise many millions more, helping Highlands Rewilding expand its operations.

It comes on the back of the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) committing £12 million to support the acquisition of Tayvallich Estate, a 1,300-hectare estate in Argyll. The funding boost marked UKIB’s first deal exclusively in Scotland and will help Highlands Rewilding develop new natural capital and revenue models on the estate.

Jeremy Leggett, CEO of Highlands Rewilding, said: “We aim to play a lead role in the great diversion of investment from ruin to restoration, through rewilding. The more citizen rewilders invest at the £50 to £100 level, the more the financial institutions are likely to invest at the £50 million to £100 million level.

“Hitting the £1 million mark in our crowdfund shows that our model is working in offering tangible hope, not just for nature but also community prosperity.”