Following a C$250 million boost, Canadian firm Sundial Growers has splashed out one of the U.K’s largest horticultural operations to supply the booming European CBD market.

The Alberta-based company, which listed on the NASDAQ exchange earlier this month, says the purchase of the Bridge Farm Group is a key strategic move in its bid to become a ‘world-leading, global cannabis player’. In a press release Sundial says the acquisition of Bridge Farm Group will allow it to produce and sell high-quality CBD products globally.

High Quality, Sustainable CBD

Headquartered in Spalding, Lincolnshire, Bridge Farm is one of the UK’s leading producers of plants, flowers and herbs, and recently secured permission to double its growing facilities to 3.5 million sq ft. 

The business employs over 500 employees across its five locations in the county supplying many of the U.K.’s leading supermarket chains. Sundial plans to convert some of the facilities to hemp cultivation for the production of CBD, subject to regulatory approval from the U.K. Home Office.

Bridge Farm chief executive David Ball said the British consumer is increasingly aware of CBD and needs to have ‘confidence in the products they buy’. He said that its philosophy is to grow ‘high quality plants in a sustainable way, and we will now be able to bring that expertise to CBD health products’.

Sundial Establishes European Presence

Sundial Growers was established in 2014 as a licensed cannabis producer and manufacturer of high-quality CBD products and currently operates from two sites in Alberta with plans to build a third facility in British Columbia. 

The acquisition establishes its presence in Europe and represents ‘an important milestone in our international expansion’, said Torsten Kuenzlen, its Chief Executive Officer. He added: “This is a significant acquisition for Sundial, taking us one step closer to our goal of being one of the leading cannabis companies in the world.”

In early July, Sundial announced it had secured a private investment of C$92.6 million and loans totaling almost C$160m. In its first set of results since its launch on the NASDAQ it reported second-quarter net losses of C$12.4 million, on net revenue of C$19.3 million.

It has not responded to claims on the MarketWatch website that it has accepted the return of half a ton of cannabis from fellow Canadian Licensed Producer Zenabis Global.