Lincolnshire horticulture firm sold in £66m deal
Bridge Farm Group, the Lincolnshire producer of ornamental plant, flowers and herbs, has been sold to consortium headed by private equity firm Artemis Growth Partners in a deal worth £66m.
The deal follows Sundial Growers UK’s announcement that it was looking to sell the firm. The consortium includes former management of Bridge Farm and the deal is the largest in the sector in Europe this year.
David Ball, operating partner and senior advisor at Artemis Growth Partners said:
“Bridge Farm is a forward-thinking, large scale producer of commercial horticultural produce that has been operating for over 30 years and is led by a proven and award-winning management team. I am delighted that we could close a transaction involving a business that I have known and run as a former CEO, and will now oversee at Artemis as an investment in our portfolio.
“Bridge Farm is the low-cost cultivation platform in the UK for cannabis with over 2 million square feet of the most technologically advanced, automated glasshouse production in all of Europe. We see Bridge Farm as the cornerstone of a vertically integrated global producer of cannabis and other medicinal botanicals with future offerings ranging from cannabis flower and concentrates, as well as other essential oil and phytomedicinal extracts, into a wide range of plant-based branded and wholesale health and wellness products.
“Bridge Farm represents not only a company with deep ties to its community, its vendors, its customers, and its employees, but also an organization that is wholly-focused on driving principles of inclusion, developing and implementing regenerative business practices, and providing health and wellness leadership for a better society today and into the future. These values are what we hold close at Artemis and we are delighted that through this transaction we are able to provide stability to the company and a platform for its growth.”
Clearwater International, KPMG and Browne Jacobson advised the UK transaction team with Pierce Atwood and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg advising the North American transaction team on the acquisition of Bridge Farm Group from Sundial Growers UK.
Gareth Iley, partner at Clearwater International said: “Bridge Farm is led by a proven operating team that has been successful as the leading competitor in volume-based multinational commercial horticulture for the past 30 years. It was a pleasure to work with David and Bridge Farm again, we wish them every success in the future.”
