Sativa Investments PLC, the UK’s first medicinal cannabis Investment Vehicle, has today announced that trading in its Ordinary Shares will commence at 8.00 a.m. today on the NEX Exchange Growth Market, under ticker SATI and ISIN number GB00BFX17474.
Sativa will look for well-placed opportunities within the dynamic regulatory environment of the Medicinal Cannabis sector and the Company’s investment strategy will focus on the production, testing and compliance, research and development, including pharmacology, commercialisation and sales and marketing of Medicinal Cannabis in jurisdictions where it is regulatorily accepted, with an initial focus on Canada. The Company has committed to an independent legal review prior to each investment to verify compliance with the prevailing regulatory environment.
Key highlights
· On Admission the Company will have estimated net cash, including the Subscription proceeds, of £1,548,040
· The Company has raised £1,100,000 pursuant to the Subscription, to invest in and acquire control of certain target companies, although it may also consider acquiring non-controlling shareholdings in targeted Medicinal Cannabis businesses, following advice from the Company’s Medical Cannabis Advisory Board.
· Sativa Investments will seek returns from the dynamic regulatory environment surrounding Medicinal Cannabis and will invest in well-placed businesses involved in production, testing and compliance, research and development, including pharmacology, commercialisation and sales and marketing of Medicinal Cannabis.
· While there are a large number of active cannabinoids found in Cannabis, Medicinal Cannabis has two cannabinoid components that can potentially treat human pain, disease and symptoms; tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).
· These two components of Medicinal Cannabis can potentially treat muscle spasticity and nausea, along with treating chronic pain by activating pathways in the central nervous system, which work to block pain signals through cannabinoid receptors. As outlined by Leafscience, a provider of health and science information to Cannabis consumers and professionals, the product can also reduce the pain and discomfort of diseases such as cancer, glaucoma, liver disease, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis. It is also believed to assist patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and relieves convulsion and inflammation.
· The Medicinal Cannabis sector is growing rapidly across the globe. For example, the Medicinal Cannabis market in Ontario, Canada, is projected to climb from CA$379 million in 2018 to CA$2.22 billion by 2021, according to Brightfield Group projections, being an increase of 485 per cent increase in three years. The demand for Medicinal Cannabis is soaring also in the Netherlands where, over the past five years, the number of doctor’s prescriptions for Medicinal Cannabis grew by more than 400 per cent to over 50,000 in 2017, according to figures from the Foundation for Pharmaceutical Statistics (SFK). The use of Medicinal Cannabis, which is only available with a doctor’s prescription, took off in the Netherlands in 2016 with an increase of 75 per cent. Jan Dirk Kroon of the SFK estimates that around 8,000 people in the Netherlands use Medicinal Cannabis.
Management with strong track record
The Company’s Board and Medicinal Cannabis Advisory Board have a combined 60 years’ industry experience with strong and extensive contacts in the industry, with significant pharmaceutical strength and experience.
Geremy Thomas, founder and CEO of Sativa, who together with family members has invested £785,000, £560,000 unconditionally at 0.25p per share and, pursuant to the Subscription, a further £225,000, said: “Our decision to list on the NEX Exchange Growth Market makes both strategic and commercial sense as the market has great access to funding, regulation that fits Sativa’s needs and the fact that NEX’s Growth Market is an emerging market, which matches Sativa’s start-up nature and culture. We are delighted to see such high levels of investor demand and we now look forward to working with our shareholders and developing the Company.
“The Company’s Board and Medicinal Cannabis Advisory Board strongly believes that the dynamic regulatory environment of Canada’s Medicinal Cannabis sector is the standard-bearer and will take off in key markets, as we are already seeing in the Americas and Europe, along with the strong groundswell of public support.”
