Stafford Capital Partners has consolidated assets from three of its SIT timberland funds into a new $1.2 billion perpetual vehicle — the Stafford International Timberland Continuation Fund — reflecting strong institutional appetite for timber as a strategic, yield-generating asset class.
📌 Key Highlights
- 73% of existing investors rolled over; 27% represents new capital.
- UK Local Government Pension Funds are the largest backer, representing 54% of commitments.
- The fund includes 74 timberland assets originally built between 2011–2018 across:
🇺🇸 United States
🇳🇿 New Zealand
🇦🇺 Australia
🌎 Latin America - Total footprint: 6.3 million acres of commercial timberland.
- No new acquisitions planned — the fund will sell down ~28% of assets over the next decade to achieve a >8% cash yield.
📌 Strategic Context
Continuation funds are increasingly used to retain high-performing assets while extending holding periods beyond traditional fund life cycles. Stafford’s move follows the successful $1B close of SIT X earlier this year, underscoring rising institutional demand for timberland’s inflation-hedging and long-duration return profile.
“This signals the growing momentum and institutional interest in timberland as a strategic asset class.”
— Angus Whiteley, CEO, Stafford Capital