Britain’s biggest vertical farm operator GrowUp has been rescued by its former CEO after burning through £140m in investment, The Grocer can reveal.
Holding company GrowUp Group Ltd appointed Interpath as administrator yesterday (16 December) after engaging the advisory firm to find a buyer or new investment.
Marcus Whately, who ran the company for six years until November 2024, has acquired GrowUp Farms Ltd – the operational business in the group – in a pre-pack deal, securing 83 jobs at the Kent-based farm. London-headquartered private equity firm Sun Capital Partners backed Whately to strike the deal, which included the flagship vertical farm site in Kent.
Whately had previously handed the reins to fmcg veteran Mike Hedges, with the former boss of Little Moons, Proper Snacks and Tyrrells brought in to commercialise the business.
Hedges, along with UK MD Will Howard, who joined from Ella’s Kitchen in early 2024, have now left the business following the administration, along with the rest of the senior management team. A total of 30 staff at the group were made redundant by administrators, with 12 group employees transfering to the buyer.
The farm operations were unaffected by the transaction and GrowUp Farms would continue to trade as normal, supplying salad to UK retail, according to a statement about the administration.
“This transaction puts GrowUp Farms on a simple and stable footing,” Whately said. “We have committed new owners, fresh capital and a clear focus on running the farm well and supplying great-tasting salad to our customers.
“Vertical farming has gone through a difficult period globally, but the fundamentals of this farm are strong. By refocusing on operational delivery, we know GrowUp Farms can be a long-term part of the UK fresh produce supply chain.
“Working alongside our customers and partners, this is business as usual: growing, packing and delivering the very best-quality produce consistently and delighting our consumers.
“Our immediate priorities are maintaining operational performance, product quality, and supporting the team, with further investment planned to strengthen the business over time.”
GrowUp had been seeking fresh funding this summer to support further expansion at the Kent farm, but The Grocer understands US backer Generate Capital did not have the appetite to put more money into the business. It comes amid challenging conditions for the CEA (controlled environment agriculture) sector.
As the company ran out of money, it sought advice from Interpath to help track down potential buyers for the business.
GrowUp was founded by Kate Hofman and Tom Webster in 2013 and became the first vertical farm to supply bagged salad brands to the major UK supermarkets, launching Fresh Leaf Co into Iceland and Spar, and the Unbeleafable range into Tesco, with the latter expanding distribution into Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Ocado and Co-op.
The B Corp business raised £140m – mostly from US firm Generate Capital – across two funding rounds, including a £38m investment in July 2024.
It also made heavy losses in recent years as costs dwarfed sales and interest payments on its borrowings ballooned. Pre-tax losses in the year to 31 December 2024 jumped from £16.8m to £22.5m on revenues of £2.9m (up from £578k in 2023).
Total losses at the company at the end of 2024 stood at £50.7m.
Rick Harrison, Interpath MD and joint administrator of GrowUp Group Ltd, added: “The investment landscape within controlled environment agriculture has been difficult, with notable challenges in the sector in the UK.
“This meant an equity raise for GrowUp, as it built scale and profitability, was difficult. Against this backdrop, we are we are pleased to have secured a transaction that places GrowUp Farms under new ownership and with fresh investment. We wish the new owners every success as they take the business forward.”
Thomas Swiers, director at Interpath and food and drink sector lead, said: “GrowUp Farms has been held up as one of the most credible vertical farming operations in the world, alongside other industry leaders in Europe and the US.
“The sale of the farming operation underlines that and is supported by UK retailers’ desire to build more resilience into their supply chains that comes from onshoring food production. We wish the business all the best for the future as it takes on fresh capital to further scale and develop its offering.”
Vertical farming difficulties
The failure of GrowUp is the latest blow to the vertical farming sector in the UK and globally.
Just this week, AeroFarms closed its Virginia facility in the US, terminating all 173 employees in the process. The firm is one of just a handful of operators with meaningful scale in CEA. It follows the bankruptcy of rival US operator Upward Farms in 2023 and French business Agricool also going into receivership in the same year.
In the UK, Jones Food Company, which had failed to turn a profit in any of the years it was operational, appointed administrators in April. JFC had claimed to be the “most advanced” vertical farm but collapsed owing £22m and making 61 staff redundant. It was then followed by Vertical Futures, which appointed administrators in August with losses of over £10m in 2024.
Origins of GrowUp
Hofman, who left GrowUp after 11 years in July 2024, started the business in a shipping container with a greenhouse on top, growing salad leaves for Borough Market. She went on to build Unit 84, the UK’s first commercial-scale vertical farm, supplying salads to restaurants and retailers across the capital.
In 2020, the business was acquired by what is now GrowUp Group, and in 2022 the business raised £100m to build its vertical farm in Kent, growing salad leaves all year round.
The Pepperness farm in Sandwich grows, harvest and packs the fresh salad leaves under one roof and claimed to be capable of producing the equivalent of 1,000 acres of farmland.
GrowUp also operated an R&D lab in Cambridge, which is not part of the pre-pack deal.
No comments yet