Chicago Atlantic Closes $20 Million Facility With Nova Farms
Chicago Atlantic has closed a $20 million facility in senior secured financing to Nova Farms, a fully integrated cannabis operator managing a Massachusetts cultivation farm, seven retail brands and five full-service dispensaries across Massachusetts, Maine and New Jersey.
Chicago Atlantic’s capital investment will support Nova Farms’ efforts to expand its footprint of dispensaries in key states, including New Jersey, a burgeoning market that has earned more than $1.3 billion since the beginning of adult-use cannabis sales in April 20221, and Connecticut, which legalized adult-use cannabis in January 2023 and saw $274 million in revenue its first year2.
Nova Farms secured its first licenses in Massachusetts shortly after the state’s legalization of adult-use cannabis in 2016, and its new openings to date have shown a consistent track record of growth and profitability.
“Nova Farms has demonstrated its ability to operate successfully and identify attractive opportunities to accelerate progress. We have every confidence in their plans to open additional locations across the Northeast, which will support their mission to increase safe and positive accessibility,” said Peter Sack, Partner at Chicago Atlantic.
With the legal U.S. cannabis industry expected to reach nearly $40 billion in 20243, Nova Farms and other multi-state operators are experiencing increased demand for high-quality retail products and convenient points of purchase.
“Our partnership with Chicago Atlantic marks a new chapter in our longstanding contributions to the industry. We are extremely proud of our ability to control quality and efficiency in each element of our supply chain. It’s an honor to have a financial partner who believes in our integrated approach working directly with our team to chart a roadmap for the realization of our goals,” said Derek Ross, CEO of Nova Farms.
The next Nova Farms retail opening is planned for late 2024.
1 NJ.gov, March 2024.
2 NBC Connecticut, December 2023.
3 Statista Market Insights, April 2024.
About Chicago Atlantic
Chicago Atlantic is a private markets alternative investments manager focused on industries and companies where demand for capital exceeds traditional supply. Founding Partners John Mazarakis, Tony Cappell and Andreas Bodmeier established Chicago Atlantic in 2019 to provide capital solutions to state-licensed cannabis operators. The firm’s private investment strategies have grown to include opportunistic credit, private equity, digital mining and impact investing, with focuses on loans to esoteric industries, specialty asset-based loans, liquidity solutions and growth and technology finance. Chicago Atlantic has made over $2 billion in credit and equity investments to date. Chicago Atlantic’s team of over 75 professionals has offices in Miami, Florida and Chicago, Illinois. For more information on Chicago Atlantic’s financing products, visit chicagoatlantic.com.
About Nova Farms
Nova Farms was established by a group of cannabis entrepreneurs which burgeoned into an organized group of industry pioneers. The business began with several licenses and a farm in Massachusetts, and currently includes adult-use cannabis retail brands and full-service dispensaries in Massachusetts (Attleboro, Dracut and Framingham), Greenville, Maine and Woodbury, New Jersey. For more information, visit NovaFarms.com.
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