In 2022, we entered the UK real estate market by participating in the Paradise Project, a six-story timber office development in London. In 2023, we established Bywater SFC Ltd., a joint venture between Sumitomo Forestry Europe Ltd., our wholly owned subsidiary, and the founder of Bywater Properties, the local developer of the Paradise Project. Through this partnership, we made a full-scale entry into environmentally conscious real estate development business utilising timber. We have also expanded into rental residential development, aiming to help address the social issue of housing shortages.

In addition to collaborating with design firms, general contractors, and subcontractors with extensive experience in timber construction in the UK and Europe, we participate in development projects with a commitment to obtaining environmental certifications and achieving EPC^※1 ratings of B or higher. Our approach also includes calculating and reducing the total CO2 emissions throughout the entire lifecycle of each project.

※1 EPC (Energy Performance Certificate): A policy introduced by the European Union in 2007 that evaluates and classifies the energy efficiency of buildings on a scale from A (highest) to G (lowest).