Overview

The Lyme Timber Company LP is a private timberland investment management organization (TIMO) that focuses on the acquisition and sustainable management of lands with unique conservation values. Since its founding in 1976, the Company has followed a disciplined and value oriented approach to investing in forestland and rural real estate.

The Lyme team has extensive experience managing and operating land throughout the Northeast, Appalachian region, and Lake States of the US. The Company’s current portfolio includes 475,000 acres of forestland located in New York, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Maine, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Virginia, Delaware, and Louisiana. The Company lands are primarily certified under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification program. Over 30 million board feet of FSC certified logs are harvested from Lyme lands annually.

History

The Lyme Timber Company began investing in timberland and rural real estate in 1976. During its first 25 years, Lyme made a series of $1 million to $10 million investments in forestland properties throughout the eastern US. Proceeds from Lyme’s early timberland investments and from offerings of limited partnership units in 1993 were used to capitalize Lyme Properties, a subsidiary company focused on the development of commercial real estate. Between 1993 and 2006, Lyme Properties became the largest life sciences property developer in New England. The business was sold in a series of transactions culminating in 2007.

In 2002, Lyme organized the Lyme Northern Forest Fund with $64.5 million in capital commitments from 88 limited partners. At the close of its investment phase in 2005, this fund had invested in five properties totaling 260,000 acres of timberland.

In 2006, Lyme organized The Lyme Forest Fund with $190.6 million of committed capital from 171 limited partners. At the close of its investment period in March 2009, this fund had invested in seven properties totaling 433,000 acres.

In 2010, Lyme organized The Lyme Forest Fund III. This fund closed on February 15, 2011 with $160.4 million in capital commitments from 180 limited partners.

Expertise

The Lyme team has over 150 years of combined experience in the acquisition, operation, and disposition of timberland and rural real estate. The team has extensive experience in the negotiation and sale of working forest conservation easements that restrict development on lands but allow income generation from sustainable timber harvesting and recreational leasing. The Lyme team also has expertise structuring advantageous debt arrangements (e.g. New Markets Tax Credit financings), restructuring forestry and timber operations, and developing new opportunities such as wetland mitigation banks.