TORONTO —Independent adult-use cannabis retailer Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. is borrowing $30 million from investor and Circle K parent Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. to further develop its consumer digital platform and for general corporate purposes.
The loan will accrue at an annual interest rate of 8%, payable quarterly, and maturing Oct. 1.
“Access to $30 million of non-dilutive debt financing is a strong show of support from our partner, Alimentation Couche-Tard,” said Trevor Fencott, Edmonton, Alberta-based Fire & Flower CEO. “It also serves as a proof point on our alignment toward the future of cannabis retail.”
- Couche-Tard is No. 2 on CSP’s2021 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by size.
Fencott added, “We are accelerating the dynamics of the retail shopping experience and creating a consumer-centric marketplace that leverages technology and data-driven insights to deliver a personalized collection of products to consumers and reaches them wherever they are at.”
Fire & Flower owns and operates the Fire & Flower, Friendly Stranger, Happy Dayz and Hotbox brands. In 2019, Couche-Tard made a strategic investment in Fire & Flower Holdings Corp., investing about $26 million for a 9.9% ownership interest. Through Laval, Quebec-based Couch-Tard’s investment, Fire & Flower said at the time, it was setting its sights on the global expansion as new cannabis markets emerge.
Fire & Flower, which has more than 100 corporate-owned stores in its network, is looking forward to continuing to leverage its relationship with Couche-Tard, Fencott said, “and further expand our co-located store program to deliver the most convenient shopping experience to our customers.”
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