While Canada has become the global headquarters for companies looking to operate on a federal level, as a market it still is quite small in comparison to others such as California. Recently, one of the state’s largest cannabis operators announced they had secured a new round of financing. NorCal Cannabis (NorCal), a vertically integrated retailer and cultivator, announced that they closed a Series A financing round would close to $27 million.
In total, the company has raised only $50 million since it’s first days in 2015, relying less on external investors and more by being profitable on a shoestring budget. This new surge of capital is intended to be invested in various California facilities to improve production and manufacturing as well as working on improving their retail footprint.
“We’re building NorCal with intention and deliberation. Our company is a hybrid of decades of working in – and with – the local Northern California cannabis community, combined with seasoned professionals with successful track records in finance, government affairs, consumer packaged goods, wine and spirits, technology, retail and cannabis,” said NorCal CEO Douglas Cortina. “NorCal is not just another cannabis company; we are of the cannabis movement in California and are committed to building the best, California-first company in the industry.”
Among the investors include JM10 Partners, Cannabis Growth Opportunity Corporation, and Cresco Capital. Currently, NorCal operates over 100,000 square feet of indoor cultivation space, alongside their own processing, packaging, distribution and retail assets across California. The company was started back in 2015 as a project between two entrepreneurs, and has now grown to become one of the fastest growing companies in the state.
“No one knows the California market better than we do. From seed-to-sale, the state of California is, and will remain, our focus; this is a huge differentiator among the big multi-state operators out there,” added President Jigar Patel. ‘As the California cannabis industry continues to mature, with more people being brought into the legal market from the black market, and with our true first-mover advantage and institutional knowledge of the market, we are in an ideal position to capitalize on that growth.’
Besides being the fifth largest economy in the world, California is estimated to have produced $2.5 million in cannabis sales in 2018, with many analysts expecting that figure to skyrocket to over $5 billion by 2020. At the same time, many experts suspect that NorCal will list on a major Canadian exchange sometime this year. While there has been no confirmation from management team one way or another, other Californian based companies have been outpacing Canadian firms in terms of financing on Canadian exchanges, according to Bloomberg.
NorCal Cannabis Company Profile
NorCal Cannabis is one of the largest vertically integrated cannabis operators in California. The Company currently operates state-of-the-art production facilities, including more than 100,000 sq. feet of indoor flower canopy, manufacturing, processing, packaging and distribution assets. NorCal also operates the leading network of statewide delivery depots, and is led by a team of experts combining 50+ years of cannabis experience in California with seasoned leadership in tech, finance and real estate. – NorCal Cannabis
