Investment Shortfall Delays Guernsey Cannabis Facility Plans

A Guernsey-based medicinal cannabis firm has reported difficulty in obtaining the £2 million investment required to commence operations on its planned growing and testing facility. 4C Labs currently imports and distributes medical-grade cannabis within the island, having possessed a cannabis cultivation licence since 2021. According to James Smith, the chief revenue officer, all other preparations are complete to convert a previous greenhouse and warehouse location in St Pierre du Bois into laboratory-grade facilities, and he indicated that “some form of public investment” would be beneficial. The Policy and Resources Committee (P&R) was approached for a statement. Mr. Smith stated: “We’d like to see some increased tax incentives to set up shop in Guernsey.” He expressed a desire for the tax rate on cannabis enterprises to decrease from 20% to 10%, aligning it with the majority of other businesses. Mr. Smith also mentioned that engagement from the Guernsey Investment Fund – which is a privately managed collective investment scheme dedicated to bailiwick initiatives – would “help us get going”. Previously this month, a cannabis retailer voiced criticism regarding “a lack of understanding” of the sector among politicians. Mr. Smith attributed the current situation to the inability of other medicinal cannabis start-ups within the sector to commence operations, which has “scared away investors”. He noted that the States had demonstrated significant support, and he still anticipates the commencement of work on the growing facility in spring 2025. “We would start tomorrow if we could and we continue to look for funding every day,” he stated. Deputy Mark Heylar, a former member of the P&R who contributed to the development of cannabis cultivation policy, indicated that “tax breaks” would be his favored approach. He added: “Tax has been imposed on cannabis business which could be removed or reduced, but it’s really down to the current P&R to make that happen.” He further stated: “We have done what we can as a government to try and encourage them to invest in the island.” For updates, follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook. Story ideas can be submitted to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our external linking policy is available.