REG - Seed Innovations Ltd - Investee Company Update: Clean Food Group

Seed InnovationsAnnouncement

26/03/2024 08:00

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RNS Number : 3072I  Seed Innovations Limited  26 March 2024

26 March 2024

 

SEED Innovations Limited

 

("SEED" or the "Company")

 

Investee Company Update: Clean Food Group

Clean Food Group Secures £2.5m Investment from Clean Growth Fund

 

SEED Innovations Ltd, the AIM-quoted company investment company providing
shareholders with exposure to early-stage health, wellness and medical
cannabis companies, to which, in normal circumstances, they have limited
access to, is pleased to note an announcement from its investee company Clean
Food Group Ltd ("Clean Food Group" or "CFG"), a UK-based food-tech business
delivering sustainable oils and fats solutions to the world's food and
cosmetics manufacturers.

 

CFG has successfully raised approximately £2.5 million which will be used to
accelerate the commercialisation of Clean Food Group's sustainable oils and
fats technology. The £2.5 million funding originated from the Clean Growth
Fund, a venture capital fund dedicated to climate initiatives.

 

This latest raise is at the same price of £0.165 (16.5 pence) per share as
the previous funding round announced on 14th August 2023. As such the
carrying value of SEED's investment in CFG remains unchanged at
approximately £1.2 million as reported then and reflected in the Company's
Interim Results as at 30 September 2023 (as announced 22 November 2023). The
current raise is by way of preference shares and SEED has taken up its option
to convert its 1.3 million ordinary shares issued at the last raise in August
2023 to the same preference share class.

 

SEED owns 7,161,336 shares in CFG representing 4.6% of CFG on a fully diluted
basis.

 

Commenting on the announcement, Ed McDermott, CEO of Seed said: "I am pleased
to see that CFG has successfully secured approximately £2.5 million through
its partnership with Clean Growth Fund, despite the general challenging market
conditions. This marks a significant milestone in CFG's journey towards
creating a more sustainable food system, enabling the scaling up of the
development and commercialisation of its innovative fats and oils technology
through 2025. SEED is thrilled to continue our support for CFG and eagerly
anticipates its progress in the future."

The following announcement is set out without material changes or adjustments
and the announcement in full can be accessed from the following link:
https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/uk-food-tech-business-clean-food-group-announces-2-5m-funding-from-clean-growth-fund-302098417.html
(https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/uk-food-tech-business-clean-food-group-announces-2-5m-funding-from-clean-growth-fund-302098417.html)

UK food-tech business Clean Food Group announces £2.5m funding from Clean
Growth Fund

·    £13m of funding raised to date to develop Company's sustainable oils
and fats technology

·    Strong capital position to accelerate to commercial launch in 2025

·    Clean Growth Fund joins investors like Agronomics, Alianza Team,
Doehler Group and SEED Innovations Ltd. to reduce the threat of climate change
and create a healthier and more sustainable global food system

[LONDON, 26 March 2024] Pioneering UK-based bio-tech business Clean Food Group
has announced a further £2.5 million in funding from Clean Growth Fund, a
climate-specific UK venture capital fund, providing UK cleantech entrepreneurs
with the expertise and capital they need to reduce carbon emissions and tackle
the climate crisis.

The funding will be used to accelerate the commercialisation of Clean Food
Group's sustainable oils and fats technology. The proprietary technology
platform uses proven, scalable yeast strains and fermentation technology and
utilises food waste as its food source to deliver sustainable alternatives to
traditional oil and fat ingredients.

Today, food production accounts for 25% of global greenhouse emissions, with
high yield monocultures responsible for the increasing levels of diseases,
deforestation and land exhaustion. Food waste, a nutrient source not currently
recycled back into the food ecosystem, represents 30% of global food
production. Vegetable oils such as palm and soy are two of the largest drivers
of deforestation; combined they make up 20% of global deforestation and as
sector oils and fats make up around 7% of total global greenhouse gases.

Clean Food Group's go-to-market product is an equivalent to high oleic palm
oil, supported by an externally validated LCA (life-cycle assessment) which
demonstrates it delivers a 90% reduction in greenhouse gases when compared
with traditional palm oil. Clean Food Group's oil has been designed as a
drop-in ingredient that can be substituted in a number of consumables,
including baked goods, confectionery and cosmetics applications.

Investment into Clean Food Group to date has come from Agronomics, a leading
listed investment company focused on Cellular Agriculture, international
industrial food specialists Alianza Team and Doehler Group, and SEED
Innovations Ltd., an AIM-listed fund focused on investments in global health
opportunities.

Alex Neves, CEO and Co-founder said: "The capital raised with Clean Growth
Fund will allow us to accelerate the scale-up of our technology platform while
advancing critical regulatory and commercial pathways, with a fully funded
commercialisation plan in place well into 2025. We are delighted to be working
with the Clean Growth Fund team, led by Beverley Gower-Jones, who is equally
passionate about accelerating innovation to help address climate change and to
create a healthier, more sustainable, global food system."

Beverley Gower-Jones OBE, Founder and Managing Partner of Clean Growth Fund
said: "Clean Food Group has an impressive team with a broad set of skills, and
who established several significant industrial partnerships. Backed by a
strong technical base, Alex Neves and his team are well placed to
commercialise the manufacture of palm oil substitutes and therefore reduce the
reliance the food industry has on the production of palm oil, an industry
which is one of the main drivers of deforestation and a major contributor to
global CO₂ emissions.  We are very pleased to support CFG's development and
growth."

End of CFG's announcement

- Ends -

 

 

 

For further information on the Company please
visit:    www.seedinnovations.co (http://www.seedinnovations.com/)
   or contact:

 

  Ed McDermott       SEED Innovations Ltd             E: info@seedinnovations.co 

 Lance de Jersey                                       
 James Biddle        Beaumont Cornish Limited,        T: (0)20 7628 3396

 Roland Cornish      Nomad                             
 Isabella Pierre     Shard Capital Partners LLP       T: (0)20 7186 9927

 Damon Heath         Broker
 Ana Ribeiro         St Brides Partners Ltd,          E: info@stbridespartners.co.uk

 Isabel de Salis     Financial PR

 Isabelle Morris

 

Notes

 

Seed Innovations Ltd

SEED Innovations is an AIM quoted investment company focused primarily on
disruptive high growth life sciences and technology businesses particularly
within the medical cannabis arena. The Company's strategy is to identify
early-stage opportunities that have an upcoming investment catalyst and grow
its portfolio in terms of value whilst limiting the number of investee
companies to a level where relevant time can be devoted to each.

 

About Clean Food Group

Clean Food Group is a UK-based food-tech business delivering sustainable oils
and fats solutions to the world's food and cosmetics manufacturers, with the
mission to deliver scalable, healthier, competitively priced ingredients that
have a positive impact on the economic, environmental, and social health of
the planet.

Clean Food Group is founded by a team with key experience in growing bio-tech,
food industry and retail businesses supported by established venture capital
and family office investors with a track record supporting fast-growth
start-up companies in highly regulated industries. Clean Food Group's
proprietary technology platform has been developed as a result of 8 years
pioneering research by Professor Chris Chuck, technical lead at Clean Food
Group and the University of Bath.

 

 

 

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