One Year of BNG: Reflections on Building a Business in a Fledgling Industry

Last week marked the first anniversary of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), and it’s been fascinating to see the conversations unfolding—both in the press and online—about how it’s going. Some of it positive, some of it critical, but most of all, it reflects the reality of what happens when an entirely new industry is created almost overnight.

For me, this moment is also personal. It’s nearly two years since Biodiversity Units UK was founded, but this last year has been the most defining. Building a business is hard. Building a business in a brand-new, fast-evolving industry is even harder. But looking back, I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved—not just for our company, but for biodiversity in the UK.

Navigating a New Industry: Lessons Learned

The early days of BNG were noisy. Developers, planners, landowners, and consultants were all scrambling to understand what BNG actually meant for them. There was a huge amount of uncertainty, and one of the biggest things we’ve learned is that education is everything. This isn’t just about selling ourselves —it’s about helping people navigate a completely new regulatory landscape.

In the first half of the year, much of our work was about guiding, advising, and demystifying the process. But as the year progressed, we saw a major shift. Developers started to understand their obligations, and transactions began flowing. Now, as projects get closer to commencement, we’re seeing a real acceleration in demand for BNG units.

One statistic I’m particularly proud of: Biodiversity Units UK has facilitated nearly 15% of all transactions on the Natural England register. That’s a huge milestone for a business that’s still in its early days. And beyond that, we already have five times that number of contracts confirmed and working their way through to completion.

It was very interesting to see Environments Bank’s news last week that they had £210m of pipeline of deals and whilst not on the same level, we have a pretty impressive £23m pipeline of opportunities. A major lesson from the past two years has been that the property industry moves slowly—and when faced with a new regulatory shift like BNG, it moves even slower as it tries to adapt and understand the changes.

The Habitat Bank Revolution

One of the most exciting things about BNG is the transformation of the British landscape. Tens of thousands of hectares are being rewilded and restored, and we’re only just getting started.

Currently, there are 43 habitat banks on the Natural England register, but we know there are hundreds more coming. That’s an extraordinary shift in land use—one that, in a decade’s time, will be something we can all look back on with immense pride.

For us, forming strong relationships with habitat banks was a priority from day one. The Spatial Risk Multiplier makes it clear: local units are key, so having a national network of habitat banks is essential. I’m incredibly proud that we now work with the majority of them in the UK, and we take that responsibility seriously—ensuring we represent them ethically, communicate effectively, and maintain a fair and transparent marketplace.

Scaling the Team

While I’m proud of the numbers and the industry impact, what I’m most proud of is the team we’ve built.

From the beginning, we knew we needed a strong operations foundation, and Jen Stott has been phenomenal in leading that. Sam Allen, who heads up our sales, has been instrumental in driving growth. We’re thrilled to welcome Nick Delicata as our new sales manager.

On the environmental side, having Bindi Mason as our in-house habitat specialist ensures that we’re accurately checking and evaluating DEFRA Metrics. This has been absolutely critical—being able to assess habitat quality, calculate biodiversity gains correctly, and ensure we’re offering robust, credible units to developers.

It’s been a rapid scale-up, and one of the biggest challenges has been managing change in such a fast-moving industry. But this growing team has handled it brilliantly, and that’s what gives me so much confidence for the year ahead.

Looking Forward: A Plea for Stability

As we step into another year of BNG, my biggest hope is for stability.

There have been some tweaks, some criticisms, and some natural growing pains in the policy. But fundamentally, BNG is working. It’s providing a mechanism to drive real biodiversity improvements alongside development.

For developers, this is an opportunity to proudly say: “By building here, we are improving nature.” That’s a transformational shift in how we think about property development.

But in order for this industry to thrive, businesses need certainty. It’s hard enough to build a company in a new sector—what we don’t need is constantly shifting goalposts.

So my message to DEFRA and Natural England is simple: stay the course. The foundations of BNG are solid, and the market is finally finding its rhythm. Now, let’s give it the stability it needs to deliver real, lasting change.

Here’s to another year of growth—for biodiversity, for habitat banks, and for every business working to make Biodiversity Net Gain a success.

If you want to know what BNG regulations mean for your property business, send me a message.