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Burges Salmon advises vertical farming operator GrowUp Farms on new facility

Posted: 1st March 2022

GrowUp Farms has secured £100m from Generate Capital to fund the construction of a major new farm in Kent

The Net Zero team from independent UK law firm Burges Salmon has advised GrowUp Farms Limited on all project aspects of its new vertical farm at Discovery Park, Kent.

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

Due to GrowUp’s proprietary high-efficiency renewable energy system and energy contracting structure, the farms are ideally placed to deliver fresh, long-lasting salads consistently, and withstand the mounting environmental and economic pressures from inflation in transport, labour and commodity costs that have challenged the fresh produce sector.

The Burges Salmon team advising on the project was led by director Alec Whiter and partner Nick Churchward from the firm’s Energy Projects practice, with assistance from Helen Scott-Lawler (Partner, IP, trademarks and retail contracts), Euan Bremner (Partner, Real Estate) Thomas Mark-Bell (Senior Associate, Real Estate), Lloyd James and Laura Sharples (Partner and Senior Associate, Construction), Ian Carnochan (Partner, Tax) and others.

Marcus Whately, Managing Director at GrowUp Farms, comments: “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.”

Alec Whiter adds: “It is a pleasure to have worked alongside the GrowUp team and to have advised them on this significant project. This major new vertical farm comes at an exciting time in the development of the UK’s sustainable produce sector.”

Nick Churchward, client partner for GrowUp Farms comments: “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. 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.”

Business Comment

Business Comment is the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce’s bi-monthly magazine. It provides insight on Edinburgh’s vibrant business community, with features on the city’s key sectors, interviews with leading figures and news on new business developments in the capital.
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