London is one of the major cultural and financial capitals in Europe and as a result, is the home for many hot new industries.
Currently, the hottest, newest industry to take Europe by storm is CBD a compound found in cannabis that doesn’t get you high and is reputed to have medical benefits. It found mainstream success in 2018 due to the Home Secretary Sajid Javid, legalising cannabis and was featured in several TV programmes.
The CBD industry is poised to grow to over £200bn by 2025. This has many of Europe’s major cities salivating at the idea of being the epicentre of the burgeoning industry. We believe London will be the city cannabis startups decide to call home – here are 5 reasons why.
You can find CBD in many restaurants
Londoners love a food trend! Acai berries, avocado and quinoa have all had their time under the London sun but it appears 2019 is already the year of CBD.
This week alone I have seen CBD served in coffee, yoghurt and even hummus! As you can probably guess, I saw all of these in Shoreditch!
CBD is being used by everyone.
Ask someone at random to describe a cannabis user and it’s likely they’ll describe a college-age stoner with unwashed hair. However, with the mainstream attention, CBD has been receiving the face of the cannabis user is changing.
This is an experience shared by Cara Robinson, Head of Customer Experience at dank! Vapes, a CBD store based near Old Street. “The stereotype needs an upgrade. The majority of our customers are white collar city professional who use cannabis to wind down after a stressful day – not too dissimilar to the way most people do with a beer or a glass of wine.”.
The City now has its own law firm
City Law firm Mackrell Turner Garrett have just unveiled their new cannabis law department. The senior partner at the firm heading up the department is hoping that being first to serve the UK market will allow them to replicate the success of law firms in the US who hit the jackpot by focusing on the needs of the fast growing cannabis industry.
London now has a Hemp Expo
With Olympia and the Excel Centre, London is already the first choice for business exhibitions and each year the world’s most successful corporations choose locations such as Olympia and the Excel centre to promote their products and services.
This year London will play host the first ever CBD Expo which will feature more than 80 exhibitors, a CBD Link Educational and Networking Area, with two full days of presentations and panel discussions from experts in the research, development, and distribution of CBD products.
London is a financial hub for those looking to invest in the ‘green rush’
London is emerging as the European hub for cannabis companies looking to raise money, two cannabis businesses are currently planning to list on the London Stock Exchange by 2020.
Last week, European Cannabis holdings, who hit the news last week for delivering the UK’s first legal cannabis shipment last week hired Canaccord Genuity to drum up investors. The company is believed to be valued at over £100m
