An Israeli medical cannabis firm gets ready to be the first to IPO in the UK after meeting all the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requirements.
Following years of campaigning and lobbying, Kanabo has announced that the company would be the first of its kind to enter the London Stock Exchange on 16 February.
While Kanabo, a self-proclaimed Europe-orientated international firm, has been working in the massive German medical cannabis market, this latest move means the company will be able to go public and grow significantly.
The move will allow them to offer “a game-changer” vaporising device, VapePod, in a safe form for millions of people. The device will be designed for a wide variety of conditions, including insomnia and sleep disorders, pain management and PTSD.
Kanabo’s Chief Executive, Avihu Tamir, told Canex:
“We’d like to create the biggest medical cannabis company in Europe, and we’d like to grow with the European market.”
He continued: “If you look at Europe, it’s maybe five years behind the US. Now we’re getting to the point when people stop arguing whether cannabis is here to stay. It’s the right time to start doing business with medical cannabis in the UK.
“At the moment, our product is sold in the UK and Germany while Israel is more of a research centre for us.
“To be an open company is a massive advantage in the cannabis industry. It legitimises you, and it’s good for business development as well.
“Business-wise, Germany will probably be the biggest market in the near future. However, we do believe there’s going to be a boom in the UK medical cannabis market in the next two years.
“I think we’re close to the point when GP’s will be able to prescribe cannabis and when that happens, cannabis will be available for everyone.”
Experts believe Kanabo will succeed as the very first open medical cannabis company on the LSE. Investors clearly agree with that as according to Mr Tamir they were aiming to raise £3.2 million during a series of a roadshow but this was “oversubscribed” to over £11 million – at the end, they settled on £6 million.
