A German-owned investment firm has secured 893ha of forestry land in North Taranaki, on top of a purchase of 914ha it had already received approval for in April.

Sustainable Forestry New Zealand, which is ultimately owned by a German insurance and financial group, was granted approval by the Overseas Investment Office to buy 1807ha of land in remote rural areas in the Stratford District.

The latest properties bought, known as Mangapapa Forest, include approximately 499ha of productive forest, which the company intends to continue using for forestry purposes.

The land was sold for an undisclosed amount by Auckland-based company New Street Capital Limited, and it was part of a broader trend of European financial groups locking in long-term carbon and timber assets.

Sustainable Forestry New Zealand’s ownership was split between Germany (70%), the United States (10%), the United Kingdom (4%) and other regions (16%).

The company was registered in October and is ultimately owned by Hannover Re Euro RE Holdings, an intermediate asset-holding vehicle for Hannover Rück SE.

In the first quarter of this year, Hannover Rück SE increased its net group profit by 47.9% to a €710.6m (NZD$1.395b).

In the 2025 financial year, the Hannover Re group reported a net income of €2.6b (NZD$5.102b).

Since October, Sustainable Forestry has bought almost 3000ha of land across Taranaki and Northland in four different purchases.

In April, the company received approval to buy 914ha known as Okau Forest in North Taranaki.

That deal also included three Northland properties, known as Kirikopuni, Pukehuia and O’Carroll forests.

The combined productive area across those sites features approximately 1218ha of pinus radiata, with harvesting scheduled to begin in 2044.

Sustainable Forestry also secured two other Northland forestry properties in March for undisclosed amounts. These included the 279ha Paradise Forest and 438ha Maungaturoto Forest.

Since it was registered in New Zealand, the company has bought 2922ha across the two regions.
   
Source: thepost.co.nz