The loan will enable Nature Impact to buy 70 acres of land in Rolvenden, Kent and 52 acres in Wadhurst, East Sussex.

These projects will see the restoration and creation of a wide range of habitats including native wildflower meadows, traditional orchards, scrub, ponds, wetlands and hedgerows.

“Triodos has been advocating for the critical role of the financial system in reversing biodiversity loss for more than four decades, and we are proud of our heritage as a frontrunner in financing nature-based solutions,” said Laura Rumph, senior relationship manager for nature, food and resources at Triodos.

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 “Innovative business models have the potential to supercharge nature restoration and we hope this project will boost confidence in biodiversity net gain among investors. 

“We are delighted to have found a partner in Nature Impact who are totally aligned with our vision and mission and we are excited to work with them to bring about lasting change.” 

BNG was introduced in England earlier this year and places a legal requirement on property developers to demonstrate a minimum net gain of 10% of biodiversity.

If this net gain cannot be achieved on site, BNG units can be bought from local nature projects and used to offset the difference, which is where Nature Impact offers its service.  

Tom Nelson, co-founder of Nature Impact, added: “We are incredibly grateful to the team at Triodos for developing an innovative lending model that will enable us to transform the sites in Rolvenden and Wadhurst, and create havens for wildlife.

“We believe this loan could represent a tipping point for nature finance, and we couldn’t be more excited to be part of this movement.”