LONDON – UK medicinal cannabis company Eco Equity founder Jon-Paul Doran has launched his first exclusively medicinal cannabis fund, JPD Capital, in London.
JPD Capital has investors from all over the world, including the UK, the Middle East, and Europe. Minimum investment into the fund is £25,000 and investors can be based anywhere in the world. The fund is domiciled in Guernsey with marketing offices in London.
Under JPD Capital’s umbrella, the aim is to invest in entities ranging from greenhouse to lighting, seed to cultivation, agricultural suppliers to distribution and companies that play a huge part in the ‘seed to sale’ journey. Over the coming months, a luxury and dispensary chain are set to be created in the Caribbean as JPD Capital further invests in and diversifies its portfolio, including medicinal cannabis company Eco Equity.
Jon-Paul Doran, founder of JPD Capital, said: “I am delighted to be launching our medicinal cannabis fund in the UK. The success of our pharmaceutical arm Eco Equity over the past 18 months shows there is appetite for investment in the industry.
“The cannabis market is the fastest-growing market of 2019, proving its unstoppable growth and obvious attraction for investors.
“We want our investors to feel confident and we want our investors to see returns, as well as achieving our main aim of finding alternative and natural treatments for life-threatening illnesses.”
The fund has already invested in projects in Zimbabwe and Antigua through Eco Equity in the past year, with foundations already built and cultivation of cannabis set to begin in the second quarter of 2020. Eco Equity acquired one of five licences to cultivate cannabis for medicinal purposes in Zimbabwe.
Most recently in November 2019, Eco Equity was granted approval for a medicinal cannabis dispensary licence in Antigua & Barbuda. The licence will also include the manufacturing of products, supply, store, import and export for medicinal purposes and scientific use in Antigua and Barbuda.
Timothy Ambrose, Chief Operating Officer of Eco Equity, said: “The funds invested into Eco Equity in the last year have resulted in successful acquisitions of licences in Zimbabwe and Antigua. We are focused on the next stage of production and particularly in the Caribbean, we want to achieve our aim of becoming Antigua’s exclusive dispensary brand.
“We welcome investment from anywhere and our progress so far is a clear indication of where investors should safely invest their money. Over the coming year we will begin cultivation and by the end of the year we will be supplying the cannabis market with high grade, GMP certified CBD products.”
The launch, which took place at London’s Gherkin, featured a panel discussion on “the future of the UK medicinal cannabis policy”. The panel consisted of Jon-Paul Doran, founder of JPD Capital and its pharmaceutical arm, Eco Equity; Peter Carroll, founder of medicinal cannabis lobbying organisation ‘End Our Pain’; Dr Dani Gordon MD, of the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society; Soheil Ghaffari, Head of Cultivation at Eco Equity; and Crispin Blunt, MP for Reigate and Chair of the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group.
The panel tackled government policy changes and the medical advantages of prescribing medicinal cannabis, whilst explaining the growing process of the pharmaceutical arm of JPD Capital in Zimbabwe and Antigua.
Former Sky News presenter Polly Middlehurst hosted the event and moderated the panel discussion.
