New vertical farm secures £100m investment

The first of a number of planned large, low-carbon indoor farms intended to serve the wholesale and retail markets in the UK, the site is being designed to use 95% less water than conventional growing methods, with the salads grown potentially saving annually up to three million lorry miles by avoiding imports. 

The Net Zero team from independent UK law firm Burges Salmon advised GrowUp Farms on all project aspects. 

‘Important milestone’​ ​

Marcus Whately, Managing Director at GrowUp Farms, said: "We've worked closely with Alec, Nick, and other members of Burges Salmon’s Net Zero team to achieve another important milestone in the GrowUp journey. The team's energy and pragmatic advice have helped enormously and we look forward to working with them again." ​

According to GrowUp, its proprietary renewable energy system and energy contracting structure made its farms ideally placed to deliver fresh, long-lasting salads consistently that can withstand mounting environmental and economic pressures from inflation in transport, labour and commodity costs. 

Nick Churchward, client partner for GrowUp Farms commented: “We are delighted to have brought together experts from our energy, food & land use and built environment teams to help deliver this fantastic project for GrowUp. ​

Sustainability challenges  ​

“It was a superb team effort from all involved. This is a really exciting time for projects addressing key sustainability challenges and we look forward to assisting GrowUp and others as they work towards transforming the impact of UK businesses.” ​

In May last year, sausage maker Heck announces the installation of a new vertical farm to grow herbs and vegetables for its Italia and Veg with Edge Product lines, as part of a £3.5m expansion of its Kirklington, North Yorkshire Factory. 

Meanwhile, last month, vertical farming firm Vertical Future secured a £21m investment​ in Europe’s ‘largest ever’ Series A funding round in the sector.