Green tech start-up company, BNGx, today launches its digital marketplace for biodiversity net gain (BNG) units, fully registered with Natural England.

It launches just nine months after the mandatory nature-fronted legislation took effect across England in February.

The exchange platform provides an end-to-end solution for the sale and purchase of off-site BNG units with documentation drafted by DLA Piper.

BNGx’s matching algorithm finds the optimal package of off-site units for a site, enabling developers to efficiently uphold their BNG requirements.

Once the metric file is uploaded to the exchange, the platform runs a search, finds the match and processes the transaction. Once complete, the off-site units are automatically added to a developer’s metric file to be submitted to the relevant local planning authority.

The exchange also allows landowners to put their available site units up for sale nationwide, where developers can purchase the most optimal package. All sales are documented, executed and processed automatically, with landowner portfolios updated in real-time.

BNG units created by Nattergal, Iford and BioGains are already available on the exchange, they can be found at bngx.com.

Andrew Hicks, CEO and co-founder of BNGx, comments: “BNGx is the simple solution for buying and selling registered BNG units.” He adds that “by automating the process, we remove the hassle and complexity, freeing up developers to focus on building the homes our country needs and empowering landowners to enhance natural habitats.”

Under the BNG legislation, developers are required to secure a 10% uplift in habitat units, calculated against a site’s original habitat baseline.

There are three ways developers can achieve this, they can combine all three, but they must follow the steps in descending order – on-site, off-site habitat unit creation and off-purchase.

In a gathering of the House of Lords earlier in the month, it was revealed that at present, only 7% of planning applications see a need for BNG – a statistic considerably lower than the government expected.