Grow Group, one of the UK’s leading medical cannabis distributors now supplying over 10,000 patients internationally, announced a major strategic shift to bring control of its operations entirely in house.
The UK’s medical cannabis market, the fabric of which Grow is deeply woven into, is continuing to grow at a reliable and sustainable pace, and is now second only to the booming German market in Europe.
As Grow unveils the launch of its newly expanded distribution platform, a new Grow Group UK brand, and a major new strategic acquisition, the British cannabis stalwart hopes its latest evolution will enable it to capitalise on this opportunity.
Its Co-Founder and CEO, Ben Langley, told Business of Cannabis: “We’re in a good place, the market’s growing and now we’ve got the full capabilities in-house to grow with it.”
For six years, Grow Group and its UK medical cannabis stablemate IPS Pharma have been running a joint venture, Grow®.
Grow® was formed in April 2019, just months after medical cannabis was legalised in the UK, making it one of the earliest movers in the sector, and one of the few UK cannabis businesses still standing from this fervent period.
This partnership, born out of the two companies’ collaboration to bring the first bulk import of medical cannabis into the UK from Europe, brought Grow’s operational expertise and IPS Pharma’s infrastructure, including a complete set of licenses, including MHRA Specials Pharma Manufacturing, Home Office Controlled Drugs Schedule 2 and GPhC Registered Pharmacy.
Langley explained: “We built a strong business with IPS, bringing together slightly different but complementary skill sets.
“When we launched the UK distribution business in 2019, Grow didn’t yet have the licences or logistical infrastructure, so the deal with IPS made a lot of sense for both sides. And we turned the joint venture into an unmitigated success — it’s now one of the biggest players in the UK.”
Yet, as the UK market has matured, so have both of the companies. Buoyed by the market’s momentum, the pair made the mutual decision now was the time to stand on their own two feet.
“So, after six successful years, we approached the conversation as adults and agreed that, from a shareholder value perspective, we could each achieve more by separating,” Langley continued.
For Grow, the timing was serendipitous: the opportunity to acquire Avida Medical, a former contract manufacturer for UK retail giant Boots, landed at their feet offering just what they needed to explore a solo launch.
In 2022, Avida Global announced the acquisition of Nottingham-based BCM Specials, one of the longest established speciality manufacturers in the UK.
BCM, soon rebranded to Avida Medical, offered its new parent company the licencing and infrastructure to become the UK’s first ‘full-service’ cannabis business, able to operate across medical cannabis, wellness and cosmetics.
After Avida Global fell into voluntary liquidation in December 2024, the opportunity for Grow to capitalise on Avida Medical’s comprehensive licensing was one it couldn’t afford to miss.
On July 04, Grow completed the 100% acquisition of Avida Medical, which will now trade as the newly launched Grow Group UK.
Ben Langley, Co-Founder & CEO of Grow Group
Langley said: “Avida essentially offers everything IPS did when we first partnered with them, but now we own it outright. Instead of owning 51%, we now have 100% control, which means we don’t have to share profits, and we have complete strategic and operational freedom.”
While he emphasised that this was ‘not a criticism of IPS at all’, he explained that this appeared to be the ideal moment for Grow to take sole ownership of its decision-making and strategic direction.
“It gave us the ability to have a new kind of conversation with IPS: one where we could say, ‘What if we separated and went our own ways?’ And that was only possible because of two things, the underlying strength of the market, and the fact that, by chance, this opportunity just landed in our lap.”
Grow Group UK effectively brings all of Grow’s UK operations under a ‘single, fully-owned, EU GMP certified entity’, seeing it evolve into a fully integrated UK medical cannabis distribution and manufacturing platform.
While its associated licensing was ‘absolutely key’ to this acquisition, the future opportunities for Grow extend well beyond streamlining the costly and time consuming licensing process.
Langley explained that due to its location, Avida opens the door to ‘exciting’ collaborations with the local Nottingham Trent University, a public research university specialising in bioscience, chemistry and forensic science.
“Through conversations with Nottingham Trent University, we saw some exciting potential. There’s a real opportunity for us to collaborate with NTU, potentially with some subsidised support, and play a role in local regeneration.”
More crucially, with decades of experience producing medicines, including for the UK’s largest pharmacy chain, Avida offers a swathe of new potential to explore novel cannabis formulations.
“They’ve got literally tens of thousands of standard operating procedures, covering all sorts of innovative and novel formulations. These weren’t originally designed for cannabis, but it’s relatively straightforward to adapt many of them.
“So now we have access to this enormous product archive, and we’ve got big ideas for where we can take cannabis medicines in terms of format and delivery.”
While the UK’s market continues to grow at a strong but steady pace, there is a consensus that until ‘cannabis naïve’ patients feel comfortable enough to explore medical cannabis treatment, the industry’s incorporation into mainstream medicine will be out of reach.
Offering alternative delivery methods to flower and inhalation provides a simple potential solution to this existential challenge.
Langley concluded: “That’s always been the core of our mission: making sure that patients in the UK who could benefit from cannabis actually get access to it.
“But that’s not always straightforward. Some people are afraid of flower, others find oils messy. The more we can innovate on delivery, make it accessible, intuitive, non-intimidating, the more likely patients are to use it consistently, and the more benefit they’ll get from it.”
“So this move gives us the tools to go further with that mission.”
The post Grow Group’s Avida Acquisition Marks Bold Step Forward for UK Cannabis Stalwart appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
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The UK’s medical cannabis market, the fabric of which Grow is deeply woven into, is continuing to grow at a reliable and sustainable pace, and is now second only to the booming German market in Europe.
As Grow unveils the launch of its newly expanded distribution platform, a new Grow Group UK brand, and a major new strategic acquisition, the British cannabis stalwart hopes its latest evolution will enable it to capitalise on this opportunity.
Its Co-Founder and CEO, Ben Langley, told Business of Cannabis: “We’re in a good place, the market’s growing and now we’ve got the full capabilities in-house to grow with it.”
From joint-venture to vertical integration
For six years, Grow Group and its UK medical cannabis stablemate IPS Pharma have been running a joint venture, Grow®.
Grow® was formed in April 2019, just months after medical cannabis was legalised in the UK, making it one of the earliest movers in the sector, and one of the few UK cannabis businesses still standing from this fervent period.
This partnership, born out of the two companies’ collaboration to bring the first bulk import of medical cannabis into the UK from Europe, brought Grow’s operational expertise and IPS Pharma’s infrastructure, including a complete set of licenses, including MHRA Specials Pharma Manufacturing, Home Office Controlled Drugs Schedule 2 and GPhC Registered Pharmacy.
Langley explained: “We built a strong business with IPS, bringing together slightly different but complementary skill sets.
“When we launched the UK distribution business in 2019, Grow didn’t yet have the licences or logistical infrastructure, so the deal with IPS made a lot of sense for both sides. And we turned the joint venture into an unmitigated success — it’s now one of the biggest players in the UK.”
Yet, as the UK market has matured, so have both of the companies. Buoyed by the market’s momentum, the pair made the mutual decision now was the time to stand on their own two feet.
“So, after six successful years, we approached the conversation as adults and agreed that, from a shareholder value perspective, we could each achieve more by separating,” Langley continued.
For Grow, the timing was serendipitous: the opportunity to acquire Avida Medical, a former contract manufacturer for UK retail giant Boots, landed at their feet offering just what they needed to explore a solo launch.
Avida acquisition
In 2022, Avida Global announced the acquisition of Nottingham-based BCM Specials, one of the longest established speciality manufacturers in the UK.
BCM, soon rebranded to Avida Medical, offered its new parent company the licencing and infrastructure to become the UK’s first ‘full-service’ cannabis business, able to operate across medical cannabis, wellness and cosmetics.
After Avida Global fell into voluntary liquidation in December 2024, the opportunity for Grow to capitalise on Avida Medical’s comprehensive licensing was one it couldn’t afford to miss.
On July 04, Grow completed the 100% acquisition of Avida Medical, which will now trade as the newly launched Grow Group UK.
Ben Langley, Co-Founder & CEO of Grow Group
Langley said: “Avida essentially offers everything IPS did when we first partnered with them, but now we own it outright. Instead of owning 51%, we now have 100% control, which means we don’t have to share profits, and we have complete strategic and operational freedom.”
While he emphasised that this was ‘not a criticism of IPS at all’, he explained that this appeared to be the ideal moment for Grow to take sole ownership of its decision-making and strategic direction.
“It gave us the ability to have a new kind of conversation with IPS: one where we could say, ‘What if we separated and went our own ways?’ And that was only possible because of two things, the underlying strength of the market, and the fact that, by chance, this opportunity just landed in our lap.”
Opportunities beyond licencing
Grow Group UK effectively brings all of Grow’s UK operations under a ‘single, fully-owned, EU GMP certified entity’, seeing it evolve into a fully integrated UK medical cannabis distribution and manufacturing platform.
While its associated licensing was ‘absolutely key’ to this acquisition, the future opportunities for Grow extend well beyond streamlining the costly and time consuming licensing process.
Langley explained that due to its location, Avida opens the door to ‘exciting’ collaborations with the local Nottingham Trent University, a public research university specialising in bioscience, chemistry and forensic science.
“Through conversations with Nottingham Trent University, we saw some exciting potential. There’s a real opportunity for us to collaborate with NTU, potentially with some subsidised support, and play a role in local regeneration.”
More crucially, with decades of experience producing medicines, including for the UK’s largest pharmacy chain, Avida offers a swathe of new potential to explore novel cannabis formulations.
“They’ve got literally tens of thousands of standard operating procedures, covering all sorts of innovative and novel formulations. These weren’t originally designed for cannabis, but it’s relatively straightforward to adapt many of them.
“So now we have access to this enormous product archive, and we’ve got big ideas for where we can take cannabis medicines in terms of format and delivery.”
While the UK’s market continues to grow at a strong but steady pace, there is a consensus that until ‘cannabis naïve’ patients feel comfortable enough to explore medical cannabis treatment, the industry’s incorporation into mainstream medicine will be out of reach.
Offering alternative delivery methods to flower and inhalation provides a simple potential solution to this existential challenge.
Langley concluded: “That’s always been the core of our mission: making sure that patients in the UK who could benefit from cannabis actually get access to it.
“But that’s not always straightforward. Some people are afraid of flower, others find oils messy. The more we can innovate on delivery, make it accessible, intuitive, non-intimidating, the more likely patients are to use it consistently, and the more benefit they’ll get from it.”
“So this move gives us the tools to go further with that mission.”
The post Grow Group’s Avida Acquisition Marks Bold Step Forward for UK Cannabis Stalwart appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
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