Land-based salmon farmer Laxey raises £34.5m
Share sale completes funding for first phase of 27,000-tonne Icelandic facility
Laxey (formerly Icelandic Land Farmed Salmon) has raised €40 million (£34.5m) through a private equity placement of shares which it says finalises funding for the first 4,500-tonne phase of its land-based facility, plus hatchery and post-smolt production.
The funding round was led by Blue Future Holding, which is part of the German family-owned conglomerate EW Group that also owns salmon egg supplier AquaGen and tilapia genetics company GenoMar.
Other strategic investors include Dutch feed company Nutreco, Seaborn, Kjartan Ólafsson and the Westman Islands pension fund. The facility is being built in the Westman Islands.
Post-smolts
Laxey aims to produce 27,000 tonnes (head on gutted) of salmon annually by 2030 in a build carried out in six phases.
The hatchery is already operational with two batches performing well, said Laxey in a press release. The facility has a capacity of 4 million individuals and is ready for internal as well as external sales in autumn 2024.
Progress remains on schedule for the grow-out site, utilising a hybrid-flow-through technology, benefiting from the favourable local conditions with respect to biosecurity and building cost.
“With significant excess smolt production in the initial years of development, the company has made a strategic decision to utilise the excess tank capacity in the grow-out section for post smolt production for external sales, in addition to the production for human consumption,” said Laxey. “Sales of post-smolt to the traditional farming industry would have the benefit of significantly increasing production in the sea pens and reduce lice issues.”
Expertise on board
The company has been mainly funded by the local Óskarsson family to date, and the addition of the strategically diverse and strong new investor group, who are prominent figures in the international salmon industry, creates a very strong platform for further growth, said Laxey. It added that the shareholder group’s collective expertise and support will further propel the company towards its strategic objectives.
With the closing of this funding round, Laxey has raised more than €80 million.
Feed agreement
Nutreco subsidiary Skretting today announced a partnership with Laxey to supply feed.
“In Skretting we believe in close and long-term collaboration with fish farmers in order to release the full potential from nutrition, feeding and efficient logistics,” said Håvard Walde, general manager of Skretting Norway. “We are very proud to partner with Laxey. This partnership puts us in a good position to prepare for our next steps in Iceland.”
Laxey’s chief technology officer Hallgrímur Steinsson said the agreement was a significant milestone in the journey towards producing premium-quality salmon in the Westman Islands.
