Tilray closing High Park Gardens cannabis greenhouse

British Columbia-based cannabis cultivator Tilray is the latest Canadian firm to throw in the towel on large greenhouse cultivation, announcing it will shutter its High Park Gardens facility in Leamington, Ontario.

The greenhouse, with 406,000 square feet of licensed growing space, was part of Tilray’s deal to acquire Natura Naturals Holdings for 70 million Canadian dollars ($50.8 million) in early 2019.

In a news release issued after markets closed Tuesday, Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy said the closure “will immediately put Tilray in a better position to achieve our goals of driving revenues across our core businesses and working towards positive adjusted EBITDA by the end of 2020.”

Tilray’s High Park Farms cultivation and processing facility in Enniskillen, Ontario, and its High Park London processing and manufacturing facility in London, Ontario, will remain open, the company said.

Closing the Leamington greenhouse should yield annualized net savings of about $7.5 million and “avoid significant ongoing capital expenditures,” according to the release.

Tilray is one of several Canadian cannabis cultivators to close or abandon plans for greenhouse facilities this year, including Canopy Growth and The Green Organic Dutchman.

Aurora Cannabis recently sold off a greenhouse facility in Exeter, Ontario, but earned less than the facility’s original purchase price.

Tilray’s release does not say whether the company expects to sell the Leamington facility.

Work at the High Park Gardens facility was temporarily suspended earlier this month after a worker tested positive for COVID-19.