Urban agriculture producer raises $10m

Gotham Greens, a New York-based urban agricultural producer, has raised $10 million in Series B equity capital to expand the construction of greenhouses into other cities in the US.

In October, the company announced a partnership with Method Products, the environmentally-friendly cleaning product company, to build the world’s largest rooftop farm in Chicago above Method’s new manufacturing plant.

Gotham Green’s climate-controlled rooftop greenhouses are used to produce pesticide-free fresh vegetables in cities and its vegetables are sold to retail, restaurant and institutional customers year-round under the Gotham Greens brand.

Healthy food retailer Whole Foods employed Gotham Greens to operate a greenhouse above its Brooklyn store in 2013.

This latest round of funding, which was completed at the beginning of the year, takes the total raised to $27 million since the company was established in 2013. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority was an early investor in the company providing a $400,000 grant.

Similar companies operating in the space that have attracted venture capital in the past include BrightFarms, which raised capital from firms including NGEN Partners and Emil Capital Partners. BrightFarms has also turned to crowdfunding to raise capital to build greenhouses, according to its website. It raised $10,790 of a $50,000 goal on Indiegogo.

Gotham Greens had not responded to questions about its investor base when Agri Investor went to press.