Rebalance Earth, a nature-focused investment fund manager, has partnered with Oyster Heaven, which creates and deploys nursery structures for oysters, to scale oyster reef restoration along British coastlines.
Rebalance Earth directs funds toward science-led projects, in this case water-related nature investments such as oyster reef restoration, peatland and river restoration and regeneration of marine kelp and seagrass forests. These projects aim to provide measurable ecosystem services, biodiversity net gain units and carbon credits. Businesses facing water and climate-related risks pay for the benefits obtained from ecosystem restoration and to support their operational resilience, regulatory obligations, or sustainability goals. And the revenue generated from corporate participation contributes to fund performance.
According to Impact-Investor.com the investment is the first in Rebalance Earth’s nature-focused infrastructure fund for which the company hopes to attract £150 million. West Yorkshire Pension Fund took a 25% stake in Rebalance Earth in 2024 and announced in June it was making a £25m cornerstone investment in the new fund.
Rebalance Earth is targeting a 10% internal rate of return for investors over the course of the 15-year fund.
“Through our cornerstone portfolio, Rebalance Earth has made one of the most significant allocations to Nature to date — demonstrating that Nature is an asset class. Like any other asset, Nature is scarce, it has real utility (from cleaning water to strengthening ecosystems), and it generates cash flow as companies pay for the services it provides,” the company said in a post.
Oyster Heaven, with the support of the Purina company, has recently launched an oyster reef restoration project off the North Norfolk coast. By the end of 2026, 40,000 Mother Reefs are expected to be installed containing a total of four million young oysters to help restore healthy marine ecosystems by improving water quality and providing a home for a wide range of species.
Native European oysters, once plentiful along the UK coastline, play a crucial role in maintaining healthy marine ecosystems, the company said. The oyster reefs generate biodiversity by providing a home for a multitude of different species and are natural water filterers, removing pollutants including excess nitrogen which helps improve water quality.
“Building an oyster reef is all about large numbers to create population tipping points and provide a suitable habitat,” said George Birch, Founder of Oyster Heaven. “It starts with the creation of Mother Reefs, specially designed clay structures. Each reef is pre-charged with over a hundred baby oysters, known as spats, in a controlled environment to ensure their survival and growth. Local teams from Norfolk Seaweed will then carefully place the Mother Reefs on the seafloor, allowing the spat to grow into mature oysters. These oyster reef systems then act as a foundation for the whole ecosystem, generating an oasis of life on the seafloor.”
The company said it would work with Norfolk Seaweed, a local family-run aquaculture business to deploy the first Mother Reefs in September.
