Chicago Atlantic lends $20M to Massachusetts-based Nova Farms

Cannabis lending firm Chicago Atlantic put $20 million behind Massachusetts-based Nova Farms with a new senior secured financing facility, the company announced Monday.

The injection of capital will allow Nova Farms – which already has a footprint in Maine and New Jersey in addition to its home state – to grow its marijuana industry presence nationally, first with expansion plans into nearby Connecticut and further development in New Jersey, according to a press release.

“Nova Farms has demonstrated its ability to operate successfully and identify attractive opportunities to accelerate progress,” Chicago Atlantic Partner Peter Sack said in the release. “We have every confidence in their plans to open additional locations across the Northeast, which will support their mission to increase safe and positive accessibility.”

Nova Farms, founded in 2016, already has a cannabis farm in Massachusetts, a portfolio with seven marijuana product brands, and five operational dispensaries in Massachusetts, Maine and New Jersey, with more slated to open later this year.

But the $20 million from Chicago Atlantic “marks a new chapter” in the company’s history, said CEO Derek Ross, who added that Nova’s ability to control its own supply chain has been key in its successes to date.

Chicago Atlantic has deployed more than $2 billion in investment capital across the U.S. cannabis sector, including committing $150 million to a fund dedicated to New York state-funded dispensary build-outs.