Love Hemp
The formerly Aquis-listed UK CBD retailer, which collapsed into administration and saw its shares withdrawn in February last year, has called in administrators once again.
In a letter sent to employees, seen by Business of Cannabis, Love Hemp Holdings says it called Begbies Traynor in to act as administrators on March 07, 2024.
Begbies Traynor states that the company ‘is to continue to trade under our supervision whilst we conduct a review of its operations and prepare our proposals for the future conduct of its affairs’.
Furthermore, it warns that redundancies may have to be made if ‘there are insufficient funds’ to pay the staff or there is ‘no viable business to continue’. Should redundancies be made, it warned that ‘it is unlikely that there will be sufficient company funds available for redundancy pay’.
It comes just over a year after the company first fell into administration and was purchased by Portillion SPV1, who replaced the company’s board with the new CEO Kamran Sattar, lawyer Francesca Yardley, investment banker Mitesh Soni, and former secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, Sir Iqbal Sacranie.
Portillion SPV1, which describes itself as a ‘private investment firm that specialises in the cannabis industry’, is also understood to own the retail site CBDoils.com, but few other details about its investments are publicly available.
According to Companies House, Portillion Investments Limited, which also counts Mr Sattar as a director, loaned Love Hemp Holdings £500,000 in February, 2024, due to be paid back a year later.
Portillion had been bullish on the prospects of its new investment, announcing in late June 2023 that it had been investing heavily in the firm ahead of a planned relisting to the London Stock Exchange.
As a result of their investment, they said they expected Love Hemp to make nearly £28m in sales over the next 12 months.
While no sales data has been published since the company was purchased out of administration last year, its last reported full-year financial statement showed it made £3.6m in the year to June 30, 2022, down 16% from the £4.3m reported a year earlier, both a fraction of Portillion’s ambitious target.
The CBD retailer first announced its plans to launch on the Standard Segment of the LSE in November 2021, and the process was initially expected to take around three months to complete.
This goal was never achieved, and the company was subsequently hit by a number of scandals, which led to its suspension from the Aquis stock exchange and its eventual collapse.
Kanabo
Kanabo this week published a financial update for its 40%-owned subsidiary, Kanabo Agritech Ltd., which it established in 2022.
According to the medical cannabis operator, Agritech has now received an advance payment of over €200,000 through its contract with Spanish investment firm Taima, for which it is providing consulting services and equipment.
Taima, which is seeking to establish a network of medical cannabis cultivation facilities in Spain, also invests in the renewable energy and sustainable agriculture sectors.
Agritech is set to receive a further tranche of funding, bringing the total to €500,000, for its consultancy relating to facility planning, design, and implementation to produce medical cannabis ‘upon completion of Phase 1’ of Taima’s project.
Phase 1, which is currently underway, involves receiving a licence from the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS) for the production and manufacturing of medical cannabis products, while Phase 2 will ensure the facility is fully operational and able to produce up to 3000kg of dried flower a year.
“This strategy is integral to our expansion, especially as we leverage our established distribution channels in the UK,” Kanabo’s CEO Avihu Tamir said.
“This initiative is a significant step towards enhancing our supply chain and producing high-quality medical cannabis products. It prioritises quality and competitive pricing, enabling scalable growth. Our focus on these areas, combined with Agritec’s expertise, makes Kanabo Group a long-term player with a built-in advantage in the industry.”
Akanda Corp
This week, NASDAQ-listed Akanda published a preliminary prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announcing its intention to issue 85.3m new common shares.
The filing also mentions pre-funded warrants, which can be converted into additional common shares in the future. The final details, including the offering price per share, are still being determined and will depend on market conditions and negotiations with underwriters.
This early version of the prospectus lays out the company’s current structure following news that it plans to sell its key revenue generator, RPK Biopharma (Holigen), to Somai Pharmaceuticals.
In late February, Akanda entered into a definitive share purchase agreement with its subsidiaries, Cannahealth and Holigen, to sell all of the shares of RPK to Somai for a consideration of $2,000,000.
As previously reported by Business of Cannabis, RPK has been the key revenue driver of Akanda for some time, following the liquidation of its Lesotho operation, Bophelo, last year.
Now, following the sale, Akanda’s will have little left other than UK medical cannabis importer and distributor Canmart, yet according to its prospectus, this too is being cut back.
It stipulates that it is no longer pursuing a Schedule 1 (bulk product) licence, and will ‘focus where its expertise lies’.
Furthermore, its plans to launch Canmart owned and operated clinics and pharmacies have been ‘reduced’ in favour of providing third-party and specialist import and distribution services for Schedule 2 products, including cannabis medicines.
“Canmart has made a limited number of sales. From 2023 and beyond, we plan to expand our product offering to include cannabis oils and extracts, and ultimately, to produce consumer branded cannabis products for discerning patients,” the company says.
