Fischer Farms secures £26m funding

Plans to transform the future of farming with the world’s largest vertical farm have moved a step closer thanks to a multi-million-pound funding boost.

Fischer Farms has secured an additional £26m in funding from Gresham House, an asset management company specialising in investments with a sustainable, positive impact.

The investment will fund the construction of a second UK-based vertical farm, which will lead the way in scalable food production and provide a more resilient and sustainable method to feed the nation.

Based on a 4-acre site in Norfolk, the farm will offer 25,000 m2 of vertically stacked growing space, providing the capacity to supply 6.5 tonnes of leaf salad, leafy herbs, and other fresh produce to UK supermarkets every day.

The funding will also enable Fischer Farms to employ, train and upskill a labour force in this ground-breaking form of farming. New recruits will join an extremely talented team of people, who all share the same vision of feeding a soaring population without exhausting Earth’s finite resources.

By maximising the use of land, the 4-acre vertical farm will be able to grow the same amount of food as 1,000 acres of conventional British farmland, without using pesticides, herbicides or insecticides, and with no impact on the surrounding countryside.

Powered by 100% renewable energy, the revolutionary vertical farm will produce the freshest, safest, most consistent, and highest quality British-grown produce all year round in the most environmentally sustainable way.

The site is set to open in 2022 and over the next 10 to 15 years, Fischer Farms plans to scale its operations and reduce its cost base to enable it to ultimately grow soya beans, rice and wheat in significant volumes, at price points that compare favourably to global commodity prices.