BrightFarms’ business model makes it uniquely scalable and financeable, and thus very attractive to investors in our Fund.
New York, NY (PRWEB) February 07, 2014
BrightFarms, Inc., the leading urban agriculture company, today announced that it has expanded its existing project equity facility with prominent clean tech investor Clean Feet Investors to $4 million. This investment is believed to be the first institutional project finance capital for a company focused on scalable, commercial urban agriculture.
Clean Feet seeks to help socially responsible companies like BrightFarms structure non-dilutive project finance solutions. The new financing reinforces BrightFarms’ momentum in the marketplace. The new capital will enable the company to respond to strong demand from the supermarket industry and cities to build commercial-scale greenhouses to meet the increasing demand for locally-grown, great-tasting produce. Clean Feet’s capital has been used to construct BrightFarms’ 56,000 square foot greenhouse in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and will support additional BrightFarms greenhouse projects, such as those under development in Washington DC, St. Louis, and New York.
BrightFarms CEO Paul Lightfoot stated, "Clean Feet Investors offers us the opportunity to finance our projects in a capital-efficient manner, and the additional capital they are providing today will allow us to scale our business and bring local, great-tasting produce to customers across the country.”
Clean Feet Investors Special Manager Jigar Shah noted, “Climate change is the biggest wealth creation opportunity on the planet. BrightFarms is a great example of a business that prioritizes people, the planet, and healthy profits, by eliminating cost and natural resource consumption from the produce supply chain.”
“BrightFarms’ business model, based on guaranteed revenues from industry-first fixed-price purchase agreements, makes it uniquely scalable and financeable, and thus very attractive to investors in our Fund. We’re excited to expand our existing facility to help BrightFarms scale their model across the country,” agreed Clean Feet Investors Manager Bernard Zahren.
BrightFarms is the leading urban agriculture company, attacking a large, attractive and fast-growing market opportunity with a strong leadership team and world-class investors, board members and partners. BrightFarms is exploiting a financial and environmental arbitrage opportunity by building a distributed network of local greenhouse farms. Its long-term fixed-price contracts with supermarkets are unique to the industry, reducing risk, attracting project finance and enabling scale. BrightFarms is well on its way to establishing the country’s first national brand of locally-grown, great-tasting produce.
About BrightFarms
BrightFarms grows local produce, nationwide. By financing, building, and operating local greenhouse farms, BrightFarms eliminates time, distance, and costs from the food supply chain. Borrowing from the highly successful renewable energy industry, BrightFarms signs industry-first long-term purchase agreements with supermarkets that feature fixed prices and minimum volume commitments. BrightFarms’ growing method uses far less land and water than conventional agriculture, and its urban locations create local green jobs and help to bring healthy, fresh produce to neighborhoods. BrightFarms’ partnerships with supermarkets, cities, capital sources, and vendors allow it to develop markets and projects faster and better than any competitor. For more information, please visit http://www.brightfarms.com.
About Clean Feet Investors
Clean Feet Investors I, LLC (CFI) seeks to provide significant returns from socially responsible investments in small to medium-sized renewable energy and energy conserving projects. By employing effective investment structures for sophisticated investors, CFI is helping to fill the current void in “non-dilutive” capital for an industry segment that is both very attractive and critical for an effective overall energy policy.
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Contact Information:
Karen Labout
Clean Feet Investors I, LLC
karen[at]cleanfeetinvestors[dot]com
860-404-2367
Toby Tiktinsky
BrightFarms
ttiktinsky[at]brightfarms[dot]com
646-480-5265