Medical cannabis company Northern Leaf eyes London listing later this year
12/02/2021 08:00
Feb 12 (Reuters) - Northern Leaf Ltd is close to hiring a
lead broker for a London stock listing later this year, its
financial adviser said, a month after it became only the second
company to receive a license for growing medical cannabis in the
British Isles.
The Jersey-based company, preparing to grow cannabis in a
75,000 square feet greenhouse on the island, is currently
raising 5 million pounds ($6.91 million) in private funding
before the initial public offering, its adviser Tristan Gervais
told Reuters.
Surging demand for medical cannabis, increasingly used to
cope with mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety
and insomnia, has pushed countries across Europe to consider
tweaking their laws.
Britain last year paved the way for medical cannabis
companies to list on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), sparking a
race between firms to go public and raise money.
Australia's MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd MXC.AX became the
first medical cannabis company to trade on the LSE on Feb. 9,
with its shares more than trebling since the debut.
"The UK Capital Markets are now open for strong medical
cannabis businesses with appropriate UK licenses," said Gervais,
who heads cannabis advisory at merchant bank Chrystal Capital.
Northern Leaf expects its first commercial harvest in the
third quarter and can produce 6,500 kilograms of dry flower at
full capacity. The company plans to sell its harvest in
countries including the United Kingdom, Israel and Germany.
It plans to use the proceeds from its IPO to expand
cultivation, install an extraction facility and build its own
medical brands, Gervais said.
Northern Leaf received its license nearly 22 years after GW
Pharmaceuticals GWPH.O became the first company to win British
approval to grow medical marijuana in the country.
($1 = 0.7240 pounds)
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(Reporting by Shariq Khan in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)
((Shariq.Khan@thomsonreuters.com; Within U.S.+1 646 223 8780,
outside U.S. +91 80 6182 2681; Twitter: @shariqrtrs;))