Unlocking UK Nature Markets: Overcoming Legal & Practical Challenges
What needs to change to unlock private finance for nature restoration and what you can do now. Based on our nature markets rountable event, Royal Society, London, September 2025. Report published: 8 December 2025.
Landmark natural capital roundtable
At a flagship gathering at the Royal Society, Freeths convened more than 100 senior voices from across development, conservation, landowning, finance and infrastructure to tackle the biggest question in nature markets: why private investment isn’t flowing and how to fix it. Led by Penny Simpson, Partner and Head of Natural Capital, the event delivered hard evidence, clear priorities for Government and a practical roadmap for creating high‑integrity, scalable nature markets.
This page summarises the key insights and the full 15‑page report is available to download for deeper analysis.
Penny Simpson
Partner | Head of Natural Capital Law
Key messages to Government
At a glance:
- Fix the fragmentation: Today’s rules are disjointed and over reliant on planning; they don’t drive system wide land use change
- Create sector “Nature Positive Pathways”: Like net zero pathways, sector plans for nature would give clarity and stimulate demand
- Reduce policy volatility: Uncertainty kills investment, markets need stability and predictable returns
- Establish market governance: A legally underpinned framework (standards, metrics, transparency) and potentially a central regulator
- Generate demand signals: Without stronger compliance drivers, EIP targets will be missed, and finance won’t flow
- Mobilise the public estate: Local authorities and public bodies can unlock early supply and demonstrate proof of concept
Why this matters now
- Private finance is essential to closing the nature restoration gap in England. Compliance drivers tied to planning (eg BNG) are creating some demand, but they’re too narrow to achieve landscape scale recovery. Meanwhile, statutory nature targets exist, but sector pathways do not, leaving businesses unclear on what to do when
- Our report includes a one page visual showing how compliance and voluntary drivers interact and where the gaps are
Highlights from the event discussions
Panel 1
- Core issue: Markets are starved of demand signals beyond planning. Investment is available, but policy instability deters it
- What’s needed:
- Clearer compliance drivers (beyond development) across sectors.
- Sector plans (NPPs) for agrifood, water, built environment—aligned to EIP targets
- Policy stability to de risk investment
- Public land can accelerate supply: Local authorities and public bodies can accept lower rents to unlock early projects, while the private sector scales
- BNG is working but fragile: Mandatory rules created real demand for off site units; uncertainty undermines confidence. NSIP BNG rules are expected to boost demand.
- Integrity matters for growth: Fragmented rules and uneven standards risk additionality/double counting concerns and depress prices
- Voluntary standards help (eg BSI Flex 701): Good for operations integrity but not enough for project/credit/buyer integrity at scale
- A governance framework is needed: Clear definitions, standardised metrics and accounting, transparent national registers, oversight of claims - potentially via a nature markets regulator
- Rating agencies could add clarity: Assess sites on ecological integrity, financial security, governance, and community benefit while managing conflicts of interest
- Explore the evidence and polling results →
Panel 1
Demand & supply in a changing legal landscape
Panel 2
Building integrity and scaling governance
What you can do now
From our audience
- Plan early for BNG and potential NSIP BNG rules; consider habitat banks and aggregated procurement
- Track the emerging Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) without assuming it will fully offset your needs
- Assess land suitability for habitat banks and nature credit projects; explore blended finance
- Work with credible standards and transparent registries to enhance credit value
- Use public land to catalyse regional supply and pilot catchment scale projects
- Partner for delivery - capacity and incentive alignment are critical
- Start insetting and portfolio purchasing to meet nature-related KPIs
- Prioritise additionality & traceability; prepare for potential disclosure duties
About the event
- Where & when: Royal Society, London, 24 September 2025
- Who attended: 100 representatives across development, conservation, landowning, consultancy, surveying and habitat banking
- What we did: Mapped the current legal/policy landscape; debated demand drivers; explored governance options to ensure high integrity markets
How we can help
- We advise on legal frameworks, market governance, project structuring (habitat banks, nutrient neutrality, BNG), portfolio purchasing, and risk management for high integrity nature credits. We work with developers, landowners, public bodies, investors, and utilities to design credible, scalable nature based solutions
- Download our full report →
FAQs
Fragmented regulation, over reliance on planning led compliance, policy instability and weak demand signals beyond development activity.
They translate national nature targets into sector specific actions and policies - giving businesses clarity and stimulating investable demand.
Mandatory BNG has rapidly grown off site unit supply and demand. Uncertainty, however, has dampened confidence; NSIP BNG rules are expected to help.
The market strongly favours a legally underpinned governance framework (potentially a regulator) to standardise metrics, ensure transparency and protect integrity.
By using public land to unlock early supply, partnering for delivery, and accepting lower initial returns to reflect wider social benefits.
Additionality, robust standards, transparent registries and alignment with emerging disclosure expectations.
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