London’s listed cannabis sector doubles in size in first half of 2021

London’s listed cannabis sector has doubled in size this year and both initial public offers and secondary fundraisings are attracting cash from investors.

The latest arrival, of pharmaceutical company (), was the largest fundraising yet, bringing in £16.5mln.

This has brought the IPO and secondary cash raised by the sector in 2021 to £118mln, including a £14mln pre-IPO funding round completed this month for as it targets a flotation later this year. 

READ: UK’s medical cannabis market could be worth £2bn if government red tape reduced

While still modest compared to the North American market, medicines derived from cannabis were only made legal in the UK in 2018 and the grey area around the Proceeds of Crime Act was only cleared up in September last year when the Financial Conduct Authority allowed UK-based medicinal cannabis companies to list their shares publicly.

New arrivals in the first five months of the year have taken the budding sector to 10 companies across the London Stock Exchange and Aquis Exchange, with the number potentially climbing into mid-teens by the time that summer-proper eventually rolls around, with two companies eyeing the LSE and another pair poised to join the capital’s alternative market.

, a medical cannabis grower, said this month that it should arrive on the main market in June, while CiiTECH, a British-Israeli cannabis wellness firm, today signed a letter of intent to complete a reverse takeover with fully listed Fragrant Prosperity Holdings Limited ().

Pharma C, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) focused on cannabis companies, and , a wellness group focused on cannabidiol (CBD) and hemp seed oil products, have both set out plans to list on Aquis in the coming weeks.

By the end of the year, based just on those companies that have publicly shared their plans, the sector could be in the mid to high teens, with the potential arrival of the abovementioned Northern Leaf and cannabis-based medicines specialist , which is in the middle of a £6mln fundraising but stressed that is in the early stages of the listing process, with an IPO in the fourth quarter or early next year.