UK-based medicinal cannabis private equity fund-vehicle JPD Capital expands into Spanish market

Medicinal cannabis Private Equity fund-vehicle JPD Capital has announced it has entered into a joint venture with Verdex Group to create and scale a medicinal cannabis start-up in Spain.

Íbero Botanica has been added to JPD Capital’s investment portfolio offering, for private and institutional investors, creating a diversified vertically integrated portfolio of medicinal cannabis cultivation opportunities that already included Eco Equity, a London company with operations in Zimbabwe.

Íbero Botanica is the first European medicinal cannabis producer under the JPD Capital structure and is focused on delivering on its objectives to be the largest Spanish producer of effective European Union Good Manufacturing Practice (EU-GMP) certified medicinal cannabis to the global market.

Íbero Botanica will be initially operating as a CBD hemp production facility, whilst in parallel undergoing the relevant audits and licensing requirements for medicinal cannabis cultivation (THC), production and export. This parallel development of a THC production capability will take approximately 18 months and will yield a higher-priced commodity from cultivation for market and off-take partners.

The Íbero Botanica project will be set up under JPD Capital fund-vehicle structure, offering investors access to a new joint-venture known as “Íbero Botanica” an equal equity partnership of 50% each between Verdex Group and JPD Capital.

JPD Capital’s responsibilities will include investment and a regulated financial structure. Verdex Group will be responsible for the management of the cultivation including sales and distribution. Verdex group have existing sales contracts, that can be leveraged by the entire JPD Capital Group portfolio, which also includes a strategic customer base in the buoyant DACH market with an emphasis on Germany.

Íbero Botanica is set to gain its EU-GMP certification within the next 18-24 months and will become a vertically integrated medicinal cannabis supplier, with operations including a state-of-the-art integrated glass cultivation and extraction/processing facility, in Almeria Spain. The facility will provide a total cultivation space of approximately 40,000 square metres, located in Almeria.

By combining JPD Capital’s operational experience and fund-raising capabilities gained from scaling Eco Equity’s cultivation operation in Zimbabwe, with the solid and tested operational capability and pharmaceutical partner relationships that Verdex Group brings to the table, the joint venture is a “marriage made in heaven”.

The operation will leverage the best from both companies and produce a lean fast scaling operation (operational in 6 months) with customers and off-take agreements for its produce, leveraged from Verdex Group’s existing pharmaceutical industry relationships.

Jon-Paul Doran, CEO and Founder of JPD Capital, said: “The medicinal cannabis industry is showing continued resilience and even growth in the face of the pandemic when many other traditional industries are collapsing.

“The hard work of all those involved at JPD Capital and Verdex Group in creating Íbero Botanica highlights the opportunities that this industry can offer, whether it be sophisticated and seasoned investors, business leaders or entrepreneurs, and on a global scale as well.

“As countries around the world ease regulations, JPD Capital’s portfolio offers investors diverse opportunities in different areas of the world, including Africa as well as Southern Europe, allowing them to spread the risk of their investments.”

JPD Capital has also announced the acquisition of UK medicinal cannabis companies Tetra Global and Regent Pharmaceuticals. Tetra Global is a medicinal cannabis research and development company focused on proprietary genetics and hybrid strains through selective breeding programs. The company will be supplying medicinal cannabis growers with a strategic consultancy and a portfolio of unique strains for their cultivation operations via a subscribed service model.

Regent Pharmaceuticals is a UK pharmaceutical distribution company, with extensive sales and distribution in the UK and Europe direct to pharmaceutical companies and retail pharmacies and clinics. The company also offers an online clinic that combines online prescription and e-commerce for consumers and patients with online prescribing from clinicians for their patients.

Regent Pharmaceuticals has a commercial focus on medicinal cannabis distribution targeting the pharmaceutical industry, with a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certified processing facility and providing an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) for generic pharmaceutical manufacturers and the larger pharmaceutical formulators.

Tim Ambrose, COO and co-founder of JPD Capital, added: “The decision to expand into the Spanish market demonstrates our commitment to utilising the cannabis industry’s global reach to ensure maximum returns for our investors.

“The European market alone is set to be worth $39.1billion by 2024, and with the African cannabis market set to be worth $2.6billion at the same point, we are well placed with our operations in Zimbabwe and Spain and various distribution streams out of the UK to continue investing in early start-up companies.” 

JPD Capital is a Guernsey issued protected cell company, operating under a corporate structure in which a single legal entity acts as an umbrella for several underlying cells, the first being Eco Equity Zimbabwe. The company has since added Íbero Botanica, Regent Pharmaceutical and Tetra Global to its portfolio. This structure empowers investors to choose how much of their capital to invest in each cell, spreading the risk and achieving valuable diversification benefits and the vertically integrated operational capabilities complement the entire JPD Capital portfolio of companies.