Volte Face report
The UK’s largest medical cannabis company has announced a new capital raise and the completion of an internal restructure.
This new raise will support Lyphe Group to become cash flow positive later this year. This alongside the consolidation of its supply chain and operating cost base, which will result in over £4m annualised savings this year. The company has completed a top-down restructuring to various teams across the business to refocus on a core UK market, as well as strategically replicate their model in Australia.
Lyphe Group has appointed a new board of directors comprising of:
- Rob Reid – founder who rejoined to lead the restructure 2 months ago
- George Scorsis – founding investor of Lyphe and chairman of one of Canada’s leading medical cannabis specialists
- Simon Lawley – investor representative
- Nikolay Tretiyakov – investor representative
- James Scarth – Chief Financial Officer
Lyphe’s new management team will draw on its diversity of expertise to strengthen its position as the UK market leader. The team comprises of:
- Sophie Gamwell – Operations & Supply Chain
- Dr Luisa Searle – Medical & Clinical
- Andrew Tyler – Marketing & Digital Product
- Helen Gale – Governance & Regulatory
A new CEO has been identified and will be announced over the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled for some exciting announcements still to come.
Alongside these internal announcements, some familiar faces are returning to the business. Professor Mike Barnes is welcomed back as Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board and Hannah Deacon will form a new working group between Lyphe and the various patient associations in the UK. Both advise and report directly to the board of directors.
The board would like to thank outgoing co-founder and CEO Jonathan Nadler and fellow directors Brian Fisher, Brad Morris and Chris Ashton for their service.
Lyphe Group launched in Australia a few months ago and will continue to operate there, where the board recognises the potential for significant bottom-line contribution. However, the Company will exit other non-core markets, including Israel. It has also decided not to pursue its previously announced LOI to acquire Materia.
Rob Reid said:
“We have undergone an extensive restructuring with the support of our existing investors. We continue to maintain a 30% market share in the UK, have entered the high-growth Australian market and now look forward with new leadership, a robust and reliable supply chain, and a genuine patient-first approach. The next chapter of our growth is set to bring many exciting and accretive opportunities.”
As the largest medical cannabis company in the UK, this announcement is significant for the industry and for patients. The scale of this restructure will hopefully bring with it an increased focus on patient care, market expansion and public awareness for cannabis medicines in the UK across the whole industry. Definitely one to watch over the coming months.
