November 14, 2023

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Based in the UK, Letoon Holding Ltd. (LHL) has secured a substantial £20 million (US$25 million) investment from Nimbus Capital, a manager of a diverse portfolio of investment vehicles specializing in financing transformative change and dynamic growth. 

With more than 50 collective years of experience in the production of active ingredients and medical oils derived from plant matrices, LHL is a private company that has developed a scientifically proven and uniquely innovative ultrasonic reclamation platform giving it the ability to transform vegetable waste and plant matter into high-value added nutrients and ingredients for the global food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. 

The company noted that what sets it apart is its strict adherence to rigorous GMP pharmaceutical standards with every step of its process being subject to stringent quality controls to ensure the highest purity, safety, and consistency in its products. 

Under the terms of the funding, Nimbus will provide LHL with a Growth Equity Agreement of up to £20 million (US$25 million) for a 36-month term following a public listing of the LHL common stock. It was stressed that this deal structure will make LHL an innovative business with the certainty of capital upon listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). 

LHL will control the timing and total number of drawdowns with no minimum drawdown obligation, and concurrent with the public listing, LHL will issue warrants to Nimbus Capital to purchase up to 6 percent of its common stock. 

Nimbus Capital stated that it is a committed long-term investor that is dedicated to being a strategic financial partner for LHL, taking an approach of nurturing long-term growth with unwavering support as the company prepares to go public. 

In addition to the capital raised, this significant understanding between LHL and Nimbus Capital is indicative that the objective of reclaiming high-value added ingredients from food waste and various botanicals – particularly the recovery of lycopene from tomato waste for use in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries –  can begin in earnest, using the application of proven technologies alongside the creation of new patented processes and products. 

“We are delighted to announce a truly groundbreaking partnership with Nimbus Capital,” said Matteo Turi, president and CEO, LHL. “This is a pivotal moment as we reshape the landscape for the reclamation of high value added eco-friendly commodities from vegetable and botanical matrices using proven science techniques.”

“With Nimbus by our side, we are now able to take huge strides towards a more sustainable, tech-driven circular economy where food waste, which would otherwise be consigned to the compost heap, can be processed for valuable, precious, and efficacious ingredients, with a global industrial demand.”

A similar endeavor is being undertaken by Austrian agtech startup Kern Tec, which closed on €12 million in Series A funding in September of this year to transform wasted stone fruit pits into safe and sustainable food ingredients. 

Founded in 2019 in Vienna, Austria, by Michael Beitl, Luca Fichtinger, Sebastian Jeschko, and Fabian Wagesreither, Kern Tec uses a series of proprietary processing steps to obtain valuable oils and protein from the seeds within unused pits from stone fruits such as apricots, plums, and cherries. 

These novel ingredients are then further processed into a base compound for the production of sustainable and cost-effective dairy alternatives including plant-based milks, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, and confectionery products. 

The company stated it will use this capital to fund its ambitions to scale up the production and commercialization efforts for its sustainable ingredients for both the plant-based and confectionery industries.

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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