How Natural Capital lending unlocks new homes & infrastructure

Building the homes the UK desperately needs shouldn’t come at the expense of our natural environment. But how do we balance building new homes with protecting native wildlife and habitats?

At Atom bank, we believe innovative finance holds the key. That’s why we launched our new Natural Capital business lending proposition, providing secured funding for Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) projects, that help to restore the natural environment while supporting the development of new housing and infrastructure across the UK.

What is Biodiversity Net Gain?

When developers build new homes, regulations in England require most of them to deliver a mandatory minimum 10% biodiversity uplift, which essentially means leaving the area in a better state than they found it. This could include a requirement to plant broadleaf woodlands, establish wetlands or restore wildflower meadows.

However, many development sites lack the space to meet their biodiversity enhancement requirements on the site itself. In these cases, developers then look to buy BNG units from off-site habitat banks. These habitat banks are areas of land being transformed to create, or enhance biodiversity. To support this, our new Natural Capital loans provide the funding needed by those looking to purchase or refinance land to create these BNG units.

From low levels of biodiversity to high-quality habitats

This builds on the successful funding we provided to BNG Partnership for three BNG habitat banks across England. Across the three sites, the 480 BNG units created and registered with Natural England are enough to deliver the biodiversity net gain required for around 2,410 new homes, thereby helping developers meet their legal obligations while providing the new properties the UK desperately needs.

Boxworth Habitat Bank, Cambridgeshire

Transforming 21 hectares of former intensive farmland into 136 BNG units, Boxworth acts as a vital ecological bridge to the neighboring Overhall Grove nature reserve. Work on the site completed in Autumn 2025, entering a 30-year care phase. The site features native oak, wildflower meadows, and newly planted small-leaved elms designed to expand habitat for local badgers, songbirds, and the rare white-letter hairstreak butterfly.

Stockbridge Habitat Bank, Hampshire

Spanning 20 hectares in the Hampshire Downs, Stockbridge generates 120 high-value BNG units by blending managed natural rewilding with targeted habitat restoration. The site focuses on creating species-rich chalk grassland and native blackthorn scrub, establishing critical shelter and foraging grounds for ground-nesting skylarks and rare downland butterflies like the Adonis Blue.

Aldwincle Habitat Bank, Northamptonshire

Aldwincle sits within a key ecological corridor near the Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits Site of Special Scientific Interest. (SSSI). It’s the largest site we’ve funded sitting at 40 hectares, yielding 224 BNG units. Secured via a Conservation Covenant with The Lifescape Project, this wetland, woodland, and meadow mosaic expands territory for verified populations of hazel dormice, migratory birds, and an active resident badger set.

Read more about Atom’s ESG initiatives and our pledge to be climate positive from 2035 here.