Vertical Future lays claim to landmark Series A funding round
UK vertical farming startup Vertical Future has secured £21 million in what is pitched as Europe’s largest ever Series A raise in the sector.
The venture was founded in 2016 by husband and wife team Jamie Burrows (ex-Ernst & Young life sciences consultant and PhD health economist) and Marie-Alexandrine Burrows (health researcher) in Deptford, South East London.
The Series A raise includes Pula Investments Ltd (Guernsey-based private family office), environmentalist Gregory Nasmyth (private family office), Nickleby Capital (representing various UHNW family offices), and Dyfan Investment (Luxembourg family office).
EIS fund, SFC Capital, the company’s second largest shareholder, also participated in the round.
Vertical Future specialises in the development and deployment of vertical farming hardware and software technologies, encompassed within its indoor soilless farms, which are being deployed across the UK and internationally.
It says that advanced discussions are already underway with several major UK retail and logistics brands to further accelerate growth.
A press release notes that the close of the Series A raise will leave Vertical Future with “a nine figure post-round valuation and a pipeline which includes a range of diverse projects in the UK and abroad (from Italy and Ireland through to Singapore) and provides the scope and autonomy for rapid expansion”.
Funds raised will be used to accelerate the deployment of Vertical Future’s farms, vertical integration of specific manufacturing capabilities, technological improvement, and team build-out, with a headcount of over 60 expected by the end of Q2 2022.
Burrows says: “Unlike others in the vertical farming sector whose technologies and ambitions are restricted to growing only premium priced salad and microgreens for a premium domestic and restaurant market, we are aiming to feed everyday working families with fairly-priced, higher quality produce. This is achieved through a combination of technology, scale, and data insights."
“Our indoor vertical farms offer a cost-effective way to dramatically increase output and productivity per cubic metre, enhance nutrient profiles, and improve flavour; all through an approach that is completely free from pesticides and thus better for human health.”
“Over the next few years, we will be doing this at an industrial scale.”
