Credit buyer · England
Nattergal wildland habitat banks
Creates large rewilding sites and sells biodiversity net gain units from them; partners with estates (e.g. Herstmonceux Castle Estate) to restore land and generate nature income.
- From
- Nattergal Ltd
- Who can apply
- Large estates and landholdings; current sites in Essex, Lincolnshire, Norfolk and East Sussex.
- Buys
- biodiversity units, nature credits
Where it’s available
Land in parts of: East Sussex, Essex, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire. The finder checks your exact land.
What you’ll need
- Large area suitable for landscape-scale restoration
How to apply
- Contact Nattergal via its website
- Discuss partnership, lease or sale
Nattergal mainly buys or partners on large sites; it does not publish landowner terms. Commits to 30+ years of management. Biodiversity net gain habitat banks need a legal agreement (conservation covenant or section 106) on the land for at least 30 years, binding on later owners; you must keep managing the habitat and can be penalised if it fails. Land under it is worth less for farming or development, and whether APR inheritance tax relief applies to private BNG deals is still unclear. Get independent legal, land-agent and tax advice before signing.
Similar schemes
- Biodiversity Net Gain - selling off-site biodiversity units OpenNatural England (register) / local planning authoritiesCreate or improve habitat on your land and sell the 'biodiversity units' to developers who must make up for habitat lost.
- Environment Bank habitat banks OpenEnvironment Bank LtdLeases (or buys) your land for at least 30 years to create a habitat bank, pays you annually and sells the biodiversity units to developers itself.
- Stour Environmental Credits OpenStour Environmental Credits Ltd (Kent councils)Sells nutrient credits to developers in the Stour catchment and pays landowners to carry out mitigation (e.g. wetlands, stream enhancement) from the proceeds.
- EnTrade nature markets (nutrient, biodiversity, carbon) Open all yearEnTrade (Wessex Water spin-out; JV with Arup from 2026)Runs auction 'market rounds' where farmers offer projects such as wetlands, woodland, grassland or cover crops and developers or water companies bid to buy the resulting credits.
- Natural England Nutrient Mitigation Scheme Open all yearNatural EnglandNatural England creates wetlands and other habitat to offset nutrient pollution, selling credits to developers; it works with landowners to find sites.
- Norfolk Environmental Credits Open all yearNorfolk Environmental Credits Ltd (Norfolk councils)Council-backed company that buys or creates nutrient mitigation (wetlands, land-use change) and sells credits to developers; landowners can put forward sites.
Checked against the official pages on 29 October 2026. Sources: 1. Always read the official page before you apply.