Latest news with #MarkMcMillan
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Qarlbo Biodiversity Signs First-Ever Voluntary Biodiversity Credit Agreement in the U.S.
Swedish firm to sell credits backed by land in Merryville, Louisiana, enabled by adoption of industry-leading methodology ATHENS, Ga., May 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Qarlbo Biodiversity, together with 6M Properties LLC, today announced the first-ever off-take agreement for voluntary biodiversity credits in the United States. Qarlbo Biodiversity, the Stockholm-based global leader in nature-positive forestry investments, made an agreement with 6M Properties, a South Carolina-based firm specializing in developing timberland resources throughout the Southeastern United States. A biodiversity credit represents an additional, measurable, and independently verified positive biodiversity outcome achieved on one hectare of forest land over the course of a year. Biodiversity loss is complex to measure and mitigate, but solutions like biodiversity credits are essential for creating transparency and accountability. Qarlbo Biodiversity will generate the credits on land it owns, through application of its biodiversity credit methodology. The restoration effort the credits will finance will be verified using the proprietary methodology, which is rooted in science and already used to underpin projects globally. This credit sale is a model for restoration of U.S. production forests that are a key driver of economic growth. "This transaction is a groundbreaking milestone for conservation finance," said Aleksandra Holmlund, CEO of Qarlbo Biodiversity. "It demonstrates clear market demand and a growing supply of practical solutions for channeling private capital into projects that deliver measurable financial, environmental, and operational outcomes." Roughly a third of the planet's land area is covered by forests, and 30% of those are production forests that play an integral role in critical global supply chains. Following recent European transactions, the first voluntary biodiversity credit sale in the U.S. underscores growing global momentum around nature-based solutions and voluntary nature credit markets. The credits will be generated on Qarlbo Biodiversity's 10,576-acre (4,280-hectare) property in Merryville, Louisiana, where the company is restoring longleaf pine ecosystems—among the most ecologically valuable and threatened forest types in North America. Once covering over 90 million acres across the Southern U.S., today less than 5% of longleaf pine forests remain. These ecosystems support threatened species such as the red-cockaded woodpecker, enhance wildfire resistance, and sequester significant amounts of carbon, making their restoration a high-impact investment in both biodiversity and climate resilience. "I was personally involved with the team during the acquisition of this asset, and I'm thrilled to be part of the vision that Qarlbo has brought forward," said Mark McMillan, CEO of 6M Properties LLC. "In today's challenging landscape of forestry management and sustainability initiatives, it's truly a pleasure to work alongside a group that evaluates an asset from every angle." Qarlbo Biodiversity's credit methodology, developed in Sweden, supported the first European biodiversity credit transaction in October 2024, with Orsa Besparingsskog as the seller and Devi Group as the buyer. The system, developed by Martin Pilstjärna, Qarlbo Biodiversity's Impact Director and Aleksandra Holmlund, Qarlbo Biodiversity's CEO, exceeds conventional European and American standards for forest management, thereby enabling additional, measurable restoration and preservation actions in timber production while also fostering the biodiversity necessary for resilient, future-proof forests. About Qarlbo BiodiversityQarlbo Biodiversity is a global leader in nature-positive forestry investments, headquartered in Stockholm with U.S. offices in Athens, Georgia. The company invests in and actively manages regeneration of biodiversity in forest landscapes, optimizing impact with the Qarlbo Nature+® Forest Management Strategy. As a co-founder of the UN-affiliated Biodiversity Credit Alliance (BCA), Qarlbo Biodiversity is at the forefront of catalyzing credible, transparent markets for forest conservation and biodiversity regeneration, and the company's pioneering methodology is responsible for enabling the first-ever commercial sale of biocredits in Sweden. Qarlbo Biodiversity is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qarlbo AB, a global investment company owned by the Jonsson family and shaped by a commitment to creating sustainable impact that lasts for generations. By integrating monitoring and reporting technology with the latest science, Qarlbo Biodiversity is future-proofing forestry to simultaneously ensure lasting conservation and financial viability. For more information, visit About 6M Properties6M Properties, LLC is a family-owned and managed timberland investment portfolio firm with holdings in the southeastern United States. For media inquiries, please contact:QarlboBio@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Qarlbo Biodiversity Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Local Spain
06-05-2025
- Business
- Local Spain
INTERVIEW: 'Spain's golden visa will return with a change of govt'
As of April 3rd 2025, the golden visa ceased to be an option for those wanting to gain residency in Spain by either buying property worth €500,000, investing €1 million in shares in Spanish companies, €2 million in government bonds, or transferring €1 million to a Spanish bank account. Now that this visa option is no more, what are the consequences? Have affluent non-EU nationals been left disappointed because they missed the deadline? And how are those who missed out now looking to pursue Spanish residency? The Local Spain spoke to three lawyers who specialised in the Spanish golden visa to see what's happened since. Mark McMillan from Sun Lawyers said: 'We rushed the last-minute visas through and quite a few with €1,000,000 deposited in Spanish bank accounts due to the time taken to process property purchases'. 'The disappointment with regards to the golden visa came from people who bought together with their spouses but could not apply due to their type of marital regime (separation of assets, which is the norm in the UK) and not having bought real estate for the mandatory €500,000€ each or at least in one sole name,' McMillan revealed. Immigration lawyer Mayrem Essadik, head of Marfour Law, was relieved that she managed to submit golden visa applications for all her clients before the deadline, but 'many have been forced to make the one-million-euro investment because their chosen properties are not yet ready to complete the process of purchase,' she told The Local Spain. 'We are very disappointed, as we believed that alternative investment options would remain available. In the end, many clients were left with no choice but to go with the €1 million bank investment – something that was not part of the original draft of the law,' she added. The primary reason given by the Spanish government for scrapping the golden visa scheme was the alleged impact wealthy foreigners have been having on Spain's housing market by buying up expensive homes locals couldn't afford and thus driving up prices, hence why the Barcelona-based lawyer can't understand why the golden visa's financial investment options have been cancelled as well. Essadik also highlighted another group of people who just missed out on Spain's golden visa – those who had bought off plan and whose properties were not yet complete. 'We have cases of clients who purchased properties in 2023, for example, but since the property won't be ready until June 2025, they have been affected. Although the purchase was already underway, they will not be able to qualify in time for the golden visa. This is the sad situation.' Maria Luisa de Castro from CostaLuz Lawyers told The Local she has several clients who missed out on the golden visa because they applied too late. 'Many clients contacted us too late, and given the uncertainty and tight deadlines, we chose not to take risks with timing. Unfortunately, some clients were hoping to benefit from the golden visa's advantage of not becoming tax residents in Spain, but they didn't manage to complete their property purchases in time'. Spain's visado de oro was one of the best residency options as it allowed holders to spend less than 183 days in Spain while still holding onto residency, and it didn't require them to become tax residents either. So now that the deadline has passed, what type of visa options are foreigners looking at to move to Spain? 'The non-lucrative visa (NLV) has clearly become the preferred option for many clients now,' explained de Castro. 'Many clients would have much preferred the golden visa, mainly for tax reasons. It offered them the flexibility to live in Spain without becoming tax residents — something the NLV does not allow,' she added. She also expressed that there's a growing interest in the digital nomad visa (DNV), 'although it requires meeting more specific conditions that not everyone can satisfy'. McMillan also believes that a lot of foreigners with that kind of capital needed for the golden visa have businesses or are working professionals, meaning that the DNV option open to them. 'The DNV route for people working remotely for foreign companies opens the way for access to the "Beckham's Law" (regimen especial aplicable a los trabajadores desplazados a territorio español) at a flat 24 percent tax on their salaried/invoiced incomes as a displaced worker which finally could be an extremely lucrative and tax-efficient way to live in Spain". McMillan is referring to the fact that if you work for a company abroad and get the DNV (not those who are self-employed) you may be able to benefit from the Beckham law, which means you can pay a flat tax rate of 24 percent instead of on a sliding scale. 'I am converting many golden visas to DNVs and advising a lot of people on coordinating the right setup to meet the criteria,' he explained. 'This is opening up an excellent alternative'. Nevertheless, Essadik believes that there fewer legal solutions to offer people who wish to move to Spain, and that 'the process is becoming less accessible overall'. The general consensus so far among property experts say that the abolishment of the golden visa won't have any impact on the general property market, nor on the luxury real estate sector. De Castro of CostaLuz Lawyers agrees with this view, believing that cancelling the golden visa will help Spain's housing crisis at all and believes it was a political decision. "The golden visa was not responsible for Spain's housing problems, and its cancellation has done nothing to solve them," she explained. "I'm convinced that once there is a change of government, the golden visa – or a similar programme – will return." Spain's golden visa was initially introduced by the right-wing Popular Party government of Mariano Rajoy in 2013 as a means of drawing international investments when the country was in the midst of an economic crisis. The PP's current leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has referred to Pedro Sánchez's decision to cancel the golden visa as a "smokescreen" to help "cover up" his "incompetence" vis-à-vis housing policy.
