Canadian cannabis business High Tide Inc has bought into the UK market acquiring Enigmaa Ltd which operates as Blessed CBD. £9.06 million buys High Tide 80% of Blessed, with a three-year option to acquire the remaining 20% at any time.
Blessed manufactures cbd oils, gummies, creams and capsules which it retails online (with a claimed total of site visits just shy of five million last year) and wholesales. A company statement says that its CBD oil has been named as the best in the UK by publications including the Mirror and the Readers’ Digest.
Gross margins of 81% for the 12 months to August 2021 are quoted for Blessed with revenue of £5.1 million.
High Tide is the parent company of businesses including a cannabis retail chain, a manufacturer and e-commerce platforms. A statement from High Tide noted the “meaningful synergies and cross-selling opportunities across all [its] e-commerce platforms” and the “complementary” nature of the acquisition “adding a fully direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform, which is in line with High Tide’s retail strengths.”
Raj Grover, president and CEO of High Tide comments, “We continue to increase our online prowess by adding asset-light businesses to our growing global e-commerce portfolio. Blessed is a fully direct-to-consumer platform that generates industry-leading gross margins as well as EBITDA margins that will continue to add to our consolidated margin profile.
“This acquisition marks our entry into the highly lucrative and rapidly-growing UK CBD space which we expect to serve as a launching pad for High Tide to further penetrate the EU market for hemp-derived CBD products, while also taking advantage of cross-selling opportunities related to our in-house product lines.”
Vithurs Thiru, CEO of Blessed adds, “Blessed CBD has experienced rapid growth and success from inception, and our goal is to become the most sought-after CBD brand globally. Our team is super-excited to be joining hands with Raj, and by leveraging High Tide’s existing resources and reach, I couldn’t be more excited about the future.
“I look forward to working with Raj and his team to accelerate the digital presence of High Tide’s brands, and to position High Tide as one of the leading vertically-integrated cannabis companies in the industry. This acquisition provides unparalleled opportunities for growth to serve our current and future customers, expand into emerging new markets, and introduce new products unmatched in quality.”