London’s GrowUp lands €45M to grow pesticide-free greens for the UK

London-based GrowUp, a vertical farm growing leafy greens in the UK, has secured a £38M (approximately €45M) investment from US-based Generate Capital. The UK-based startup looks to expand its Kent farm and meet the rising demand for its ready-to-eat salads.

This funding extends Generate Capital’s partnership with GrowUp, which began in 2021 and helped GrowUp transform a five-acre site into a vertical farm equivalent to 1,000 acres of prime farmland in Kent.

Scott Jacobs, Generate Capital’s CEO and co-founder, says, “GrowUp is one of the UK’s most exciting and innovative vertical farming operations, experiencing nearly 800 per cent sales increase year over year. Their ability to quickly earn the trust of the UK’s largest retailers shows the appeal of their product lines, the strength of their team, and their ability to meet rising consumer demand for healthy, locally grown food.”

“We look forward to working with them to keep accelerating the decarbonisation of the food system by providing nutritious, affordable and sustainable greens to UK consumers and food manufacturers.”

Eduardo Clemente, an MD at Generate Capital, adds, “Since our first investment in 2021, GrowUp’s unique approach has demonstrated that producing superior, sustainable leafy greens at scale and at competitive pricing is possible, unlocking the potential to capture significant market share in the UK salad market.”

“In less than a year from starting operations at industrial scale, GrowUp’s success in securing significant interest and volumes from some of the UK largest retailers is a testament to their value proposition.”

Capital utilisation

The funding will enhance GrowUp’s capacity, boost its leadership in the UK salad market, support its Unbeleafable and Fresh Leaf Co. brands, advance R&D at its Leaf Lab in Cambridge, and strengthen its status as a certified B Corp.

Marcus Whately, CEO of GrowUp, says, “This investment is a fantastic boost to GrowUp and recognises the team’s passion and talent. We partnered with Generate Capital because, as a $10B sustainable infrastructure investor with a mission to ‘rebuild the world together’, Generate Capital aligns with our ethos.”

“With Generate Capital’s support, we have proved that vertically farmed salads are sustainable, cost competitive, and commercially viable, as well as tasty, healthy and long lasting. Together we can unlock a new salad category and meet growing consumer demand.”

GrowUp is the first vertical farm to supply branded salads to major UK retailers like Tesco, Iceland, SPAR, and other food service customers.

Whately further adds, “Consumers want UK-grown, sustainable, longer-lasting leaves – grown without pesticides. With this further investment, we can expand production to meet demand and continue to transform UK food production.”

“We’ve been growing for over 11 years now. We’ve come a long way with Generate Capital’s support, since Kate Hofman and Tom Webster set up their first vertical farm in 2013, supplying salad leaves to London markets and restaurants.”

Vertical farm growing leafy greens in the UK

Founded in 2013 by Kate Hofman and Tom Webster, GrowUp Farms is a purpose-driven vertical farming business and a certified B Corp. Starting in a small London unit, the company initially grew salad leaves for Borough Market and local restaurants.

11 years later, with over £100M in investment, GrowUp expanded to a five-acre vertical farm in Kent, growing salad leaves year-round. The farm uses technology and 100 per cent renewable energy to create optimal growing conditions.

Once the Kent farm is fully operational, the site will produce 1.4 million bags of salad per week.

GrowUp also made waves as the first UK vertical farm to offer branded salads in supermarkets, launching Fresh Leaf Co. in Iceland and SPAR in early 2023, and Unbeleafable in Tesco by mid-2023.

Brief about Generate Capital

Generate Capital is a sustainable investment platform focused on accelerating the infrastructure transition. Since 2014, it has invested over $10B in sustainable assets across six sectors including power, mobility, waste, green digital, water, and agriculture. 

With over 50 technology and development partnerships and more than 2,000 global assets, Generate Capital provides capital and support to drive cost savings, resilience, and decarbonisation, proving that sustainability delivers results.