DENVER, Sept. 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A year ago, Madison Ventures+ (MV+), an innovative private/venture equity boutique combining capital investment with hands-on collaboration, successfully closed on a control investment in Sweet Leaf Madison Capital, a leading asset-based specialty finance company focused on the capital-constrained legal cannabis industry in the United States. The union of the two veteran teams from Sweet Leaf and MV+ formed Sweet Leaf Madison Capital (SLMC), which has built upon Sweet Leaf’s exceptional track record in this highly specialized industry.
“The cannabis industry is a complex, dynamic and rapidly-expanding business, and navigating it requires a high level of specialized knowledge,” said Bryan Gordon, Founder and Managing Director of MV+ and Chairman and CEO of SLMC. “With our decades-long track record of institutional investing and asset management in the specialty finance sector, it seemed a natural fit for MV+ to join forces with the experienced and cannabis-knowledgeable team of Sweet Leaf professionals.”
Sweet Leaf was founded by Ted Harris and Gabe Selko in 2015 in Denver as one of the first private, direct-lending companies within the cannabis industry. With an initial focus on equipment lease financing, Sweet Leaf grew to be one of the largest and most active equipment leasing companies focused exclusively on the cannabis industry. After joining forces with MV+, SLMC expanded its offerings to include real estate financings and senior secured term loans for middle-market companies from seed-to-sale.
At present, SLMC is evaluating dozens of opportunities in real estate, equipment financing and growth capital. A meaningful and extremely profitable portion of SLMC’s origination comes from from the company’s “preferred vendor program,” where cannabis equipment manufacturers programmatically refer customers with financing needs to SLMC. This program is particularly relevant to the emerging adult-use states, where cultivators, processors and other cannabis entrepreneurs require ground-up financing to monetize the significant time, effort and expense undertaken to acquire licenses in a very competitive environment.
The timing could not be better for an experienced, sophisticated lender to step in and meet the rapidly growing and unmet needs of the nascent cannabis industry. “A healthy plant needs certain things to reach its full potential, and that’s true with businesses as well,” said Andrew Kaye, Chief Commercial Officer of SLMC. “Even amidst challenges with the regulatory, tax and pricing environment, capital markets and the broader economy, SLMC has been able to use its extensive industry network, leadership, industry knowledge and expertise in finance and business operations to scale quickly over the last year. And this is just the beginning.”
About Madison Ventures +
Madison Ventures + (with its predecessors, “Madison Ventures +” or “MV+”) was founded in 1996 at 400 Madison Avenue in New York City on the philosophy that great ideas need great vision, originality, leadership, and execution to succeed. Over its 26+ year history, MV+ has established an exceptional track record of successfully building and revitalizing niche business platforms and assets through capital investment, thought leadership, active collaboration, and “elbow grease.” MV+ was a pioneer in the private/venture equity industry in its adoption of a fundless investment model, utilizing bespoke direct investments through SPVs as opposed to funds. Madison Ventures + has repeatedly identified off-market, high risk-adjusted return investment opportunities in a wide range of overlooked sectors in real estate, specialty finance, healthcare innovation and wellness, and other industries. Since its inception, MV+ has averaged an annualized return on investment of more than 35%, with a sub-5% loss ratio, on approximately $1.9 billion of invested equity capital. Madison Ventures + is your trusted and innovative boutique private investment partner with a personal touch.
For more information, visit Madison Ventures+ online, email the team, or continue the conversation on LinkedIn.
About Sweet Leaf Madison Capital
Sweet Leaf Madison Capital provides customized, “seed-to-sale”, asset-based lending solutions to the underserved middle-market of the cannabis industry by originating equipment financing, real estate loans, and senior secured term loans. The company is based in Denver and has offices in New York City and West Palm Beach. To learn more visit Sweet Leaf Madison Capital online or continue the conversation on LinkedIn.
Contact: Jim Dissett
The 9th Block
303-532-7392
jim@the9thblock.com
