Embattled Love Hemp dragged out of weeds by ‘special purpose’ CBD investor for undisclosed sum
Embattled CBD brand Love Hemp has been rescued from collapse, weeks after the cannabis firm was forced to draft in administrators amid plummeting sales.
The group, which has been promoted by boxer Anthony Joshua, was acquired for an undisclosed price by Portillion SPV1 Limited.
The group has been recently founded by Kamran Sattar, the chief of financial-planner Portillion Capital and sole director of Portillion SPV1 which is a “special purpose investment vehicle ” that will be used to acquire CBD assets.
“I am pleased that my team and I have been able to secure the future of Love Hemp and can finally make Love Hemp the go-to brand globally,” said Sattar.
As part of the sale Portillion will be taking on all the group’s existing employees – which are reported to be around 28.
It comes as the Croydon born firm has been enthralled in a series of professional embarrassments – including having its shares suspended since May after its corporate advisers resigned.
In September, the firm was also forced to pay a £70k penalty to the Aquis Stock Exchange (AQSE) after the market said it had given a “misleading impression” to investors of the company’s financial position.
Love Hemp, which sells a range of CBD infused goods such as face cream and sweets in stores such as Boots, reported a significant drop in revenue in Q2 FY23, down 37 per cent compared to Q1 FY23.
In January sales at Love Hemp also dropped by 66 per cent compared to January 2022.
“The experience of Love Hemp shows that the CBD industry has passed through the exciting first stage when everyone involved thought they would become multi-millionaires overnight” Professor Joshua Bamfield, director at centre for Retail Research, told CityAM
He said: “We can expect that CBD will continue to grow, but now at a slower rate than originally forecast and, eventually, even become boring.”