Source: Harborside

Harborside’s FLRish, Inc., Closes $5M Financing for Series A

California’s leading cannabis company and family of brands complete a $5M qualified equity financing as part of a larger $6.5M Series A funding round

Oakland, CA, May 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A leading California cannabis company that manages the Harborside retail dispensaries and brands, as well as one of the state’s largest cannabis cultivation facilities, today announced a $5,000,000 qualified equity financing that is part of a larger $6,500,000 Series A financing led by Cresco Capital Partners, with participation from Quinsam Capital Corporation and Murray Field & Company LLC. The capital will be used to fund the company’s expansion of its retail management platform to additional cannabis retailer clients, continue the build-out of its cultivation facility, and for general working capital and corporate development purposes.

“With the advent of adult-use on January 1, 2018, it was important to me to raise capital for the company to enable our expansion and to take advantage of the many compelling opportunities that I was seeing. We’re also proud and delighted to be voted the ‘Best Dispensary in California’ in 2017, a testament to our customer experience, value for money, trusted range of choice and advice, and superb staff,” said FLRish Chairman Emeritus Steve DeAngelo. “Cresco Capital Partners, led by Matt Hawkins, has been a supporter of ours for two years, and we’re delighted to further develop our relationship with his second fund. He will be joining the board, and we’re looking forward to his advice, direction and insight as we move into our next phase of expansion and growth.”

Andrew Berman, FLRish’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “This Series A provides us with the opportunity to bring onboard as shareholders a significant number of convertible debt holders who have supported the company since its inception, for which we are very grateful. These are tremendously exciting times for the company, our trusted staff and the industry, and we’re watching the developing, fully regulated market in California unfold. We see strong growth in consumer demand and in the area of branded products, a market in which the Harborside and Key brands are market leaders and very well positioned. Trusted brands will become increasingly important for our consumer. As one of the first dispensaries to voluntarily advocate for and implement cannabis product testing, Harborside has always been committed to building and maintaining the trust of our patients, and now, adult-use customers.”

Matt Hawkins, managing partner of Cresco Capital, said, “Two years ago, we invested with F​LRish to help develop its cultivation facility with a group of first-class investors. With the Series ​A​ investment, as the first investment out of our second fund, we can align our FLRish investments into one of the preeminent Californian cannabis businesses.”

FLRish, Inc., currently manages the Harborside Oakland and Harborside San Jose retail stores in California, which legalized adult-use cannabis sales on January 1, 2018, and is projected to be the largest adult-use cannabis market in the United States. The Harborside Oakland dispensary was founded in 2006 by Steve DeAngelo; the Harborside brand today is well known throughout California and globally. Through its retail management business division, FLRish controls the Harborside brand and retail stores, including new locations opening in 2018.