What Scottish Forestry does

Scottish Forestry is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, established on 1 April 2019 under the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018 to take over the forestry policy, regulatory, and support functions previously discharged by Forestry Commission Scotland. The agency operates from a National Office in Edinburgh and a network of 5 regional conservancies, serving landowners, farmers, crofters, community groups, and commercial forestry businesses across Scotland. Its mandate covers woodland creation, sustainable forest management, felling regulation, tree health surveillance, and grant administration.

The agency's core platform is the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS), with an indicative 2024/25 budget of £45.4m, structured as ten modular grant offerings — Woodland Creation, Agroforestry, Small Woodland Loan Scheme, Woodland Improvement, Sustainable Management of Forests, Tree Health, Harvesting and Processing, Forest Infrastructure, Forestry Co-operation, and Community Fund. It also stewards two UK-wide standards: the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) for sustainable forest management and the Woodland Carbon Code for voluntary woodland carbon projects. A digital tooling layer — Scottish Forestry Map Viewer, Land Information Search, Open Data Hub, Native Woodland Survey Data Explorer, and EIA/permissions public registers — supports self-serve access for applicants and the public.

As a public sector body, Scottish Forestry does not generate commercial revenue. It is funded through Scottish Government budget allocation, distributes the FGS grants on behalf of Scottish Ministers, and is wholly owned by the Scottish Ministers with no private shareholders or external investors. The agency employs 250+ permanent staff (up from 221 in March 2023) and is responsible for enforcing felling permissions, processing Environmental Impact Assessments, maintaining tree pest and disease surveillance, and convening sector partnerships (e.g., the 2025 Forestry Strategy Event with 70+ partners). In 2025-26, Scotland accounted for 54% of UK woodland creation, with 7,220 hectares of new woodland planted and 4,240 hectares of native woodland exceeding the Scottish Government's 4,000-hectare annual commitment.

Name

Scottish Forestry

Legal name

Scottish Forestry

Website

https://forestry.gov.scot

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Scottish Forestry is an executive agency of the Scottish Government that administers forestry policy, regulation, and the Forestry Grant Scheme across Scotland, serving landowners, farmers, crofters, community groups, and forestry businesses through a National Office and 5 regional conservancies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Forestry Administration

NAICS

Support Activities for Forestry (1153), Support Activities for Forestry (115310), Forestry and Logging (113), Support Activities for Forestry (11531)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Forestry & Public Lands Administration (State/National Forests) (BPAIAMAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Timberland & Forest Asset Management (IMAMAJAA), Forest Carbon Projects & Ecosystem Services (Carbon Credits, Biodiversity) (IMAMAAAJ), Sustainable Forest Certification & Chain-of-Custody Services (FSC/PEFC/SFI) (IMAMAJAJ), Forestry & Reforestation (BPAGAGAD), Site Assessment, Planning & Permitting (Reforestation Plans) (AFAMACAC)

Keywords

• Forestry policy regulation
• Forestry grant administration
• Woodland management support
• Tree felling permits
• Sustainable forestry standards

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Funding Administration: Scottish Forestry administers the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) with an indicative 2024/25 budget of £45.4m, providing funding in two key areas: woodland creation and management of existing woodland. The agency does not generate commercial revenue but distributes public funds.

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Scottish Forestry is an executive agency of the Scottish Government responsible for forestry policy, support, and regulations across Scotland. It administers the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) with an indicative 2024/25 budget of £45.4m, regulates tree felling and woodland creation through a permissions framework, and provides technical guidance and standards including the UK Forestry Standard and Woodland Carbon Code. The agency operates through a National Office in Edinburgh and 5 regional conservancies that discharge statutory and grant-giving functions.

Product overview

Scottish Forestry is an executive agency of the Scottish Government responsible for forestry policy, support, and regulations. It operates a platform of grant programmes under the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) to support woodland creation and sustainable forest management. The core product suite includes various grant modules (Woodland Creation Grant, Agroforestry Grant, Small Woodland Loan Scheme, Woodland Improvement Grant, Sustainable Management of Forests Grant, Tree Health Grant, Harvesting and Processing Grant, Forest Infrastructure Grant, Forestry Co-operation Grant, and Community Fund), complemented by standards and tools including the UK Forestry Standard, Woodland Carbon Code, and digital mapping/data tools (Map Viewer, Land Information Search, Open Data Hub, Native Woodland Survey Data Explorer). The agency also maintains public registers for Environmental Impact Assessments, woodland creation, felling permissions, and forest plans.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) The main funding programme offering financial support for the creation of new woodland and sustainable management of existing woodland through various grant options, administered by Scottish Forestry with an indicative 2024/25 budget of £45.4m.
• Woodland Carbon Code The UK standard for woodland carbon projects, providing a quality assurance benchmark for carbon sequestration claims and guidance for woodland carbon project registration.
• UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) The technical standard for sustainable forest management in the UK, defining requirements and providing guidance for foresters on sustainable forest management practices.
• Scottish Forestry Map Viewer Interactive mapping tool allowing users to explore and discover information about Scotland's woodlands and forests.
• Land Information Search Digital tool for searching land-related information for forestry purposes.
• Open Data Hub Portal providing open data related to Scottish forestry for public access and analysis.
• Native Woodland Survey of Scotland Data Explorer Data explorer tool providing access to Scotland's native woodland survey information.

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• JAHAMA Highland EstatecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026JAHAMA Highland Estate is implementing a major native woodland recovery plan across its 32,500-hectare landholding in the Scottish West Highlands around Ben Nevis, with £2.3 million in public funding from the Forest Grant Scheme and Scottish Forestry. The project aims to quadruple native woodland cover from 1,425 to 5,700 hectares over ten years through natural regeneration.
• Glen Nevis EstatesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026Neighbouring landowner collaborating with JAHAMA Highland Estate on the native woodland recovery plan in the Ben Nevis area.
• John Muir TrustminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026Neighbouring landowner and conservation organization collaborating with JAHAMA Highland Estate on the native woodland recovery plan in the Ben Nevis area.
• Forestry and Land ScotlandminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026Government body collaborating with JAHAMA Highland Estate on the native woodland recovery plan in the Ben Nevis area.
• Oxygen ConservationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 February 2026Natural capital company approved by Scottish Forestry to plant 1.5 million native trees across 2,500 acres of upland Perthshire at Invergeldie Estate near Comrie. Project is funded by £3.3 million from the Scottish Government's Forestry Grant Scheme over two phases and registered under the Woodland Carbon Code.
• TreeStoryminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 5 February 2026Sustainable forestry consultancy engaged by Oxygen Conservation to deliver the 1.5 million tree planting project at Invergeldie Estate.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Forestry England (Forestry Commission): Direct UK counterpart responsible for forestry regulation, policy support and public forest management in England. Comparable mandate, statutory remit, and grant-administration function under the wider Forestry Commission framework pre-devolution.
• Forestry and Land Scotland: Scottish Government body that manages the National Forest Estate and is a direct counterpart to Scottish Forestry. While Scottish Forestry handles policy, regulation and grants, Forestry and Land Scotland owns and manages publicly-owned land and timber — together they form the two pillars of devolved forestry governance in Scotland.
• Natural Resources Wales: Welsh Government-sponsored body that combines forestry regulation, woodland creation grant administration and environmental stewardship — the Welsh equivalent of Scottish Forestry in terms of statutory remit and cross-cutting natural resource mandate.
• Forest Service (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland): Forestry division of the Northern Ireland executive, responsible for forest policy, regulation and grant support — the smallest UK devolved forestry administration, structurally analogous to Scottish Forestry in regulatory function.

Others

• Woodland Trust: UK-wide conservation charity focused on woodland creation, restoration and protection. Functions as an adjacent ecosystem participant — a key non-government delivery partner and potential co-funder of projects administered under the Forestry Grant Scheme.

Regional players

• Forest Service (Ireland / Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine): Republic of Ireland's national forestry service with parallel regulatory and grant-administration functions. Closely comparable in mandate and toolset but operates under a separate jurisdiction and policy framework.
• Swedish Forest Agency (Skogsstyrelsen): Swedish national forestry agency with responsibility for forestry policy, supervision and grant administration. Strong functional analogue to Scottish Forestry in terms of regulatory remit, though operating under a different legal and ownership regime.

Broad incumbents

• Environment Agency (England): UK environmental regulator with adjacent functions in tree health oversight, flooding/land management and statutory advice — comparable in regulatory weight and public-sector delivery model.
• Natural England: English statutory advisor on nature conservation with overlapping remit on woodland creation grants and biodiversity outcomes. While broader than Scottish Forestry, the two agencies share grant-administration and biodiversity-monitoring functions.
• USDA Forest Service: U.S. federal agency managing national forests and administering forestry grants and programmes. Much larger in scale and scope, but provides the closest international benchmark for a statutorily-mandated forestry regulator and grant administrator.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/scotforestry
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/scottishforestry
• Instagraminstagram.com/scottishforestry/?hl=en

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Scottish Forestry