NEWS
UK: Savills venture will help farmers grow and export cannabis
Savills has teamed up a cannabis consultancy and a greenhouse builder to launch a one-stop medical cannabis export advice service
The property firm will work alongside Hanway Associates and CambridgeHOK as part of the Crop17 venture.
Crop17 will help growers find suitable land, source equipment and navigate the complex legal landscape.
Bosses hope the initiative will open up the legal cannabis market for farms across the UK.
Savills director, Alex Bragg, said:
“The UK agriculture sector is embarking upon a period of unprecedented change.
“A phasing out of subsidies, a new dawn for trade, adapting to meet climate change targets and a huge growth in agtech presents the industry with huge challenges and opportunities.
“For the forward thinking and innovative farmer and grower adapting into new markets is a key priority. This turnkey solution is the type of innovation we expect to see more of within UK agriculture.”
The UK is a world-leader in the production of cannabis for medical and scientific use.
A 2018 report by the UN’s International Narcotics Board revealed that the UK produced 95 tonnes of legal cannabis in 2016.
However, Sativex and Epidyolex manufacturer GW Pharmaceuticals currently hold a monopoly and it’s very difficult for farms to obtain a license.
George McBride, co-founder of Hanway Associates, said:
“Growing cannabis legally in the UK is difficult, but far from impossible.
“Extensive barriers to entry guard lucrative opportunities in the nascent medical cannabis industry.
“Crop17 greatly reduces the risks involved in developing a commercial cultivation operation.”
While CBD has boomed in recent years, only one UK company has a license to grow hemp for CBD extraction.
Jersey Hemp was issued the license in August 2019.
Header Image by Esteban Lopez on Unsplash
