Lufa Farms Secures Financing for Expansion Drive of Innovative Sustainable Urban Greenhouses

Lufa Farms secures investment to fuel new farms for feeding 4,000 more Montreal  families and to begin expansion of innovate basket programs into Ontario and United States.

MONTREAL, Oct. 9, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Lufa Farms, the world's first commercial rooftop farm, today announced the completion of a $4.5 million financing drive to fund the expansion of its new rooftop farming operations in Quebec laying the foundation for expansion into Ontario and the United States.

The funds will finance the construction of two additional facilities in the greater Montreal area and will establish Lufa Farms as the predominant urban rooftop farm operator in the world. The funds will also be used to begin expansion drives into Boston, New York, Chicago and Toronto.

"Our new facilities will clearly establish us as the strongest and most advanced fresh-food farm operator in the urban agriculture space by putting well over 200,000 square feet of rooftops under cultivation," said Mohamed Hage, founder and CEO of Lufa Farms. "Now that we have completed this round, more than 5,000 families will be obtaining freshly harvested, high-quality fruits, vegetables, herbs and organic local produce from Lufa Farms on a weekly basis."

Montreal's Cycle Capital Management led the investment round, which also included Lufa Farms' founding team of Hage, Lauren Rathmell and Dave Furneaux.

Of particular note is the participation in the funding drive by Andrew Ferrier and the Kubo Greenhouse Project of the Netherlands.  Ferrier, the former CEO of Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd., the world's largest dairy producer, will also be joining the company's Board of Directors.

The KUBO Greenhouse Project, which designs and manufactures some of the world's largest and most sustainable greenhouses will provide greenhouse technology exclusively to Lufa Farms in North America. In addition to its investment, KUBO has joined Lufa Farms in an exclusive relationship to provide its technology as part of the Lufa Farms' North American expansion plans. "Our use of the KUBO's greenhouse technology will ensure that we get the productivity, yields and efficiency that a successful urban farm requires," said Hage.

Lufa Farms offers fresh goods and premium, locally grown produce directly to consumers who live and work near its sustainable urban farms. Lufa Farms' produce is harvested the same day it is delivered to consumers -- ensuring that the vegetables are truly ripe, fresh, and offer optimal nutritive value. Subscriber Réjean Gaudreau is typical of Lufa Farms customers. "It's harvested for me on the same morning," said Gaudreau, "It's as if I had my own garden in town!"

Lufa Farms baskets are available in a variety of sizes and contents, beginning at $22 a week. Subscription details can be found on its website at www.lufa.com.

About Lufa Farms

Lufa Farms is a Quebec-based urban-farming enterprise that harvests fresh vegetables, herbs and fruits in rooftop greenhouses. The company created the world's first commercial-scale rooftop greenhouse farm in 2010 atop an office building in Montreal. In its first year of operation, the farm produced more than 250 tons of fresh produce grown using no unnatural herbicides, pesticides or fungicides. Lufa Farms harvests daily and delivers directly to city consumers.

SOURCE: LUFA FARMS

English - Lisa Figlioli, 203 625-0082, [email protected]
French - Yourianne Plante, 514 661-4062, [email protected]