The exodus of listed cannabis companies from the public markets, particularly in the UK, is continuing at pace as yet another medical cannabis operator has announced plans to delist.
It comes at a critical time not just for the UK’s cannabis sector, but its economy at large. Against the backdrop of the UK government’s recently released 10-year ‘Modern Industrial Strategy’, in which it set an ambitious goal of becoming Europe’s leading life sciences market by 2030, the number of companies exiting UK public markets is accelerating at a worrying rate.
UK stocks continue to trade at around 25-42% lower than their US peers, while companies continue to decry the regulatory burdens and are increasingly targeted for undervalued buyouts, while Brexit-burdens persist.
The government has at least recognised that the UK’s life sciences sector is ‘over-regulated’, and is pushing through reforms to make the MHRA (MHRA) more agile, while committing hundreds of millions to support the life sciences sector.
Despite this renewed public commitment, cannabis operators and their sector counterparts remain under intense financial strain, faced with the reality of trying to raise capital as a small and mid-cap biotech firm in the UK’s public markets.
A key example of this dynamic is UK medical cannabis producer Celadon Pharmaceuticals, which has been scrambling to find renewed funding commitments and avoid falling into administration for months.
UK medical cannabis firm Celadon Pharmaceuticals Plc is preparing to delist from the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market and re-register as a private company, as it battles to secure sufficient funding to remain operational.
In a statement issued on 1 July, the company announced plans to cancel the admission of its ordinary shares trading on AIM effective 8 August, pending shareholder approval at a general meeting on 28 July.
“The Chief Executive Officer of the Company believes the proposed cancellation… to be in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders,” Celadon stated, noting that a circular outlining the rationale and implications of the delisting would be distributed to shareholders and made available on its website.
Trading in Celadon’s shares was temporarily suspended on 1 July due to a delay in publishing its annual audited accounts.
At its Annual General Meeting, the company faced further scrutiny, with more than 40% of shareholders voting against the re-election of Chair Alexander Anton. While the resolution passed, the board acknowledged the discontent and pledged to engage with dissenting shareholders.
“The Board notes the low turnout… and will engage with those shareholders that voted against the resolution to understand the reason behind the voting.”
The company reiterated that Mr. Anton intends to review his position following the delisting vote and anticipates stepping down if the cancellation is approved.
Celadon has been in a precarious financial position since April, when it first warned it would be unable to continue as a going concern without new funding.
On 11 June, the company secured a £500,000 unsecured one-year loan from a European high net worth individual, its second emergency facility since March.
The loan, with a 10% annual interest rate, is designed to provide short-term breathing room. However, Celadon warned that this would only sustain operations into July, and that it is dependent on further funding and creditor support.
“Despite the recent funding challenges, from an operational point of view, we are pleased with progress,” said CEO James Short, referencing developments at its cannabis cultivation and production site.
This latest facility supplements a £7 million existing credit facility, under which £1 million has been drawn to date. Celadon disclosed on 6 June that it no longer expects to receive further funds from that lender.
To complicate matters, a waiver agreement with the initial lender prevents the new loan from being used to repay the old one, and caps Celadon’s total indebtedness at £7 million—further constraining financial manoeuvrability.
The company says it is still in talks with another unnamed finance provider who has completed due diligence and is ‘in the process of making funds available,’ though no timelines have been confirmed.
Celadon first announced its intention to delist from AIM in March 2025, citing the high costs and regulatory burden of maintaining a public listing relative to its size and stage of development. The decision was reiterated in June and now appears imminent following the posting of the shareholder circular.
The proposed delisting and transition to private status will be voted on at the general meeting on 28 July at The Aston Tavern Hotel in Birmingham.
If approved, the company will also adopt a new set of articles of association, signalling a fundamental shift in its governance structure.
This dynamic is not limited to the UK. IM Cannabis, which trades in two of the world’s most mature cannabis markets and is listed on the NASDAQ, is fighting its own battle for funding access and liquidity on the public markets.
In April 2025, Business of Cannabis reported that IMC was facing delisting from the world’s second largest stock exchange for a third time in as many years, as its stockholders’ equity (the value of a company’s total assets minus its total liabilities) of US$2.18m fell below the minimum requirement of $2.5m.
Furthermore, the exchange noted that IMC no longer met the alternative criteria for market value of listed securities or net income from continuing operations.
Although the company hasn’t met the minimum thresholds, its compliance plan (submitted May 23, 2025) was approved by NASDAQ, extending the deadline to October 6, 2025.
“If the Company fails to evidence compliance by the required deadline, the Company may be subject to delisting. At that time, the Company may appeal the Nasdaq staff’s determination to a Hearings Panel,” it said in a recent update.
A week later, on July 09, IMC announced that it had secured a $1 million loan from Israeli investment firm L.I.A. Pure Capital Ltd, with the option of a further $1 million to follow by 4 September, contingent on meeting key conditions.
These include registering a pledge over its Israeli subsidiary, IMC Holdings Ltd, and completing a capital raise via Aegis Capital Corp.
The loan carries an annual interest rate of 8% (plus VAT) and is repayable by June 2026. A default would trigger a 15% interest rate, and the lender retains acceleration rights in the event of enforcement or insolvency proceedings.
As part of the deal, Pure Capital gained the right to appoint a board director. That appointment has now been confirmed as Mr. Oz Adler, a public company executive with experience in capital markets and cross-border M&A. Adler’s appointment signals growing influence by creditors as IMC faces persistent liquidity concerns.
The post Cannabis Exodus from Public Markets Continues: Celadon Announces Plans to Leave AIM and IMC Fights to Remain on NASDAQ appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
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It comes at a critical time not just for the UK’s cannabis sector, but its economy at large. Against the backdrop of the UK government’s recently released 10-year ‘Modern Industrial Strategy’, in which it set an ambitious goal of becoming Europe’s leading life sciences market by 2030, the number of companies exiting UK public markets is accelerating at a worrying rate.
UK stocks continue to trade at around 25-42% lower than their US peers, while companies continue to decry the regulatory burdens and are increasingly targeted for undervalued buyouts, while Brexit-burdens persist.
The government has at least recognised that the UK’s life sciences sector is ‘over-regulated’, and is pushing through reforms to make the MHRA (MHRA) more agile, while committing hundreds of millions to support the life sciences sector.
Despite this renewed public commitment, cannabis operators and their sector counterparts remain under intense financial strain, faced with the reality of trying to raise capital as a small and mid-cap biotech firm in the UK’s public markets.
Celadon Pharmaceuticals
A key example of this dynamic is UK medical cannabis producer Celadon Pharmaceuticals, which has been scrambling to find renewed funding commitments and avoid falling into administration for months.
UK medical cannabis firm Celadon Pharmaceuticals Plc is preparing to delist from the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market and re-register as a private company, as it battles to secure sufficient funding to remain operational.
In a statement issued on 1 July, the company announced plans to cancel the admission of its ordinary shares trading on AIM effective 8 August, pending shareholder approval at a general meeting on 28 July.
“The Chief Executive Officer of the Company believes the proposed cancellation… to be in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders,” Celadon stated, noting that a circular outlining the rationale and implications of the delisting would be distributed to shareholders and made available on its website.
Trading in Celadon’s shares was temporarily suspended on 1 July due to a delay in publishing its annual audited accounts.
At its Annual General Meeting, the company faced further scrutiny, with more than 40% of shareholders voting against the re-election of Chair Alexander Anton. While the resolution passed, the board acknowledged the discontent and pledged to engage with dissenting shareholders.
“The Board notes the low turnout… and will engage with those shareholders that voted against the resolution to understand the reason behind the voting.”
The company reiterated that Mr. Anton intends to review his position following the delisting vote and anticipates stepping down if the cancellation is approved.
Celadon has been in a precarious financial position since April, when it first warned it would be unable to continue as a going concern without new funding.
On 11 June, the company secured a £500,000 unsecured one-year loan from a European high net worth individual, its second emergency facility since March.
The loan, with a 10% annual interest rate, is designed to provide short-term breathing room. However, Celadon warned that this would only sustain operations into July, and that it is dependent on further funding and creditor support.
“Despite the recent funding challenges, from an operational point of view, we are pleased with progress,” said CEO James Short, referencing developments at its cannabis cultivation and production site.
This latest facility supplements a £7 million existing credit facility, under which £1 million has been drawn to date. Celadon disclosed on 6 June that it no longer expects to receive further funds from that lender.
To complicate matters, a waiver agreement with the initial lender prevents the new loan from being used to repay the old one, and caps Celadon’s total indebtedness at £7 million—further constraining financial manoeuvrability.
The company says it is still in talks with another unnamed finance provider who has completed due diligence and is ‘in the process of making funds available,’ though no timelines have been confirmed.
Celadon first announced its intention to delist from AIM in March 2025, citing the high costs and regulatory burden of maintaining a public listing relative to its size and stage of development. The decision was reiterated in June and now appears imminent following the posting of the shareholder circular.
The proposed delisting and transition to private status will be voted on at the general meeting on 28 July at The Aston Tavern Hotel in Birmingham.
If approved, the company will also adopt a new set of articles of association, signalling a fundamental shift in its governance structure.
IM Cannabis
This dynamic is not limited to the UK. IM Cannabis, which trades in two of the world’s most mature cannabis markets and is listed on the NASDAQ, is fighting its own battle for funding access and liquidity on the public markets.
In April 2025, Business of Cannabis reported that IMC was facing delisting from the world’s second largest stock exchange for a third time in as many years, as its stockholders’ equity (the value of a company’s total assets minus its total liabilities) of US$2.18m fell below the minimum requirement of $2.5m.
Furthermore, the exchange noted that IMC no longer met the alternative criteria for market value of listed securities or net income from continuing operations.
Although the company hasn’t met the minimum thresholds, its compliance plan (submitted May 23, 2025) was approved by NASDAQ, extending the deadline to October 6, 2025.
“If the Company fails to evidence compliance by the required deadline, the Company may be subject to delisting. At that time, the Company may appeal the Nasdaq staff’s determination to a Hearings Panel,” it said in a recent update.
A week later, on July 09, IMC announced that it had secured a $1 million loan from Israeli investment firm L.I.A. Pure Capital Ltd, with the option of a further $1 million to follow by 4 September, contingent on meeting key conditions.
These include registering a pledge over its Israeli subsidiary, IMC Holdings Ltd, and completing a capital raise via Aegis Capital Corp.
The loan carries an annual interest rate of 8% (plus VAT) and is repayable by June 2026. A default would trigger a 15% interest rate, and the lender retains acceleration rights in the event of enforcement or insolvency proceedings.
As part of the deal, Pure Capital gained the right to appoint a board director. That appointment has now been confirmed as Mr. Oz Adler, a public company executive with experience in capital markets and cross-border M&A. Adler’s appointment signals growing influence by creditors as IMC faces persistent liquidity concerns.
The post Cannabis Exodus from Public Markets Continues: Celadon Announces Plans to Leave AIM and IMC Fights to Remain on NASDAQ appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
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