Burges Salmon supports Alba Trees on acquisition of Scottish bare root tree nursery, Christies of Fochabers

We have advised Alba Trees, the UK’s largest cell-grown tree nursery and a Cibus Fund II portfolio company, on the acquisition of the business and assets of Christies of Fochabers, the long‑established Scottish bare‑root tree nursery.

The acquisition secures the core operational assets of the Christies nursery and enables continuity of production, customer supply and specialist growing expertise under Alba Trees’ ownership. This development will also allow Alba Trees to supply in‑house bare‑root production alongside its existing cell‑grown offering, broadening its presence in restocking, new woodland creation and hedging stock. The sale also saw all 32 employees from Christies of Fochabers remain, ensuring continuity for staff, customers and suppliers.

Our team, working with Cibus, the sustainable food and agriculture private equity and venture capital firm, advised Alba Trees on all corporate, real estate and employment aspects of the transaction. The deal was led by Danny Lee and Jenny Purcell in the Corporate and M&A team, with support from Ross Simpson, Sarah Stewart and Darren Thomson in Real Estate, and Eilidh Wood in Employment.