Inner Spirit Holdings Announces Corporate Spiritleaf Retail Cannabis Stores in Edmonton and Calgary and Exercise of Over-Allotment Option Resulting in a Public Offering for Gross Proceeds of $10 Million
CALGARY, June 7, 2019 /CNW/ – Inner Spirit Holdings Ltd. (“Inner Spirit” or the “Company”) (CSE:ISH), a Canadian company establishing a national network of retail cannabis stores under its Spiritleaf brand, is pleased to announce that it has received a retail cannabis store licence from Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (the “AGLC”) for a wholly-owned corporate retail cannabis store in Edmonton’s celebrated arts and cultural community of Old Strathcona, located on Whyte Avenue. This follows last week’s announcement that the Company received its first retail cannabis store licence for a corporate location in Calgary’s downtown Beltline district, with both stores anticipated to open in June 2019.
We are very pleased to be opening our two initial corporate retail cannabis stores to serve cannabis consumers in high-profile locations in Calgary and Edmonton.
Darren Bondar, President and CEO of Inner Spirit
Our experience with opening and supporting the operation of Spiritleaf retail cannabis stores throughout the country illustrates that we have a proven and effective system of opening stores, training knowledgeable staff and providing top-quality cannabis products to the market.
The Company also announced today that the Agents (as defined below) of its previously announced brokered offering (the “Offering”) of senior secured convertible debenture units (“Debenture Units”) exercised in full their over-allotment option to purchase an additional 730 Debenture Units for additional gross proceeds to the Company of $730,000, resulting in aggregate proceeds to the Company under the Offering of $10 million. The Offering was completed through a syndicate of agents (the “Agents”), co-led by Acumen Capital Finance Partners Limited, as sole bookrunner, and Canaccord Genuity Corp., with Burstall LLP acting as legal counsel to the Company. Inner Spirit intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering to build out and provide inventory for wholly-owned corporate Spiritleaf-branded retail cannabis stores in Alberta, to maintain real estate leases in Ontario, to design and produce Spiritleaf custom inventory to support its franchise partners, and for working capital purposes. A portion of the net proceeds of the Offering was used to fully repay the $1.5 million short term loan (plus accrued interest) owed by the Company to Tilray, Inc.
The Company’s seven franchise-owned Spiritleaf-branded retail cannabis stores are open and operating in Brooks, Lethbridge, St. Albert, Calgary (Stonegate) and Edmonton (Argyll), Alberta; Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan; and Kingston, Ontario. Calgary (Beltline) and Edmonton (Old Strathcona) will be the Company’s initial corporately owned retail cannabis stores. In Alberta, three additional corporate locations and eight additional franchise locations are in the current AGLC licencing queue, with five additional corporate stores and 22 franchise applications under development. In British Columbia, Spiritleaf franchise partners have received municipal licencing approvals and provincial approvals in principle for stores in Castlegar and Maple Ridge, British Columbia, with four additional franchise locations awaiting final approvals.
About Inner Spirit
Inner Spirit is establishing a network of recreational cannabis stores under its Spiritleaf brand. Supporting local entrepreneurs by applying its award-winning franchise and retail models, Inner Spirit has more than 100 franchise agreements in place for potential Spiritleaf locations and plans to operate corporate outlets in certain jurisdictions. The Company is simultaneously developing a diverse portfolio of proprietary quality and curated lifestyle cannabis products positioning the company to be an iconic Canadian brand and the most trusted source for recreational cannabis. Key industry partners and shareholders include Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. (TSX.V:XLY); HEXO Corp (TSX: HEXO) (previously as Newstrike Brands Ltd. (TSX.V:HIP)); and Tilray, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY). More information can be found on Inner Spirit’s website at www.innerspiritholdings.com.
