UPM (Finland) and United Bankers on Dec. 18, 2018 signed a contract on forest estate transaction and long-term partnership. UPM sells over 21,000 hectares of land, located mainly in Kainuu region, to United Bankers forest funds UB Timberland and UB Nordic Forest Fund III. In the long-term partnership UPM commits to manage United Bankers forest property and United Bankers commits to sell a significant amount of wood to UPM annually.

Target of the partnership is to increase the area and yield of forests owned by United Bankers subsidiary UB Fund Management Company Ltd’s forest funds. A long-term wood trade agreement will enhance predictability in the future.

"United Bankers is the fastest growing player in the forest estate market and our target is to grow also in the future. Deepening cooperation with UPM brings synergy to our forest management. As a responsible and competitive actor, UPM is a natural partner for us and the contract is thus also to the benefit of our fund owners," stated United Bankers’ CEO Patrick Anderson.

UPM offers high quality forestry and wood trade services to its customers.

"A high proportion of forests owned by United Bankers’ forest funds is managed by UPM based on the long-term partnership. Target is to increase the value of forests by sustainable operations," stated UPM’s Forest Director Sauli Brander. "This contract also strengthens our wood sourcing in Finland," Brander continued.

UPM is one of the biggest forest owners in Finland. The group owns 514,000 hectares of forest land in Finland, 75,000 in the U.S. and 225,000 hectares of plantations in Uruguay.