DALLAS, Nov. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After almost a decade of research and development, CTrust introduces the first of its kind cannabis business credit score – Cannabis Trust Score (CTS) – providing a sophisticated, comprehensive and tested formula to assess investment risk and manage exposure in the fast-maturing industry.
CTrust’s Evaluation, Scoring and Monitoring (ESM) bundled solution increases operational and financial transparency into cannabis businesses seeking better and more cost-effective access to needed growth capital, while offering investors and lenders a quantifiable, verifiable and systematic process by which to navigate capital deployment in the space.
“What I call Cannabis Investing 4.0 has not been kind to businesses or investors over the past two years, with very limited capital available only to a select few and at extremely high costs,” said CTrust Founding Member and CEO Giadha A. DeCarcer. “CTrust lays the foundation for a cannabis investing reset, whereby improved business transparency and reduced investment risk allow creditors to effectively price capital and better manage exposure, which together are the basis of a more balanced and mature cannabis capital market.”
CTrust brings together a trio of uniquely qualified leaders to accomplish its mission:
- Giadha A. DeCarcer, CTrust Founding Member & CEO: a seasoned tech innovator, keen strategist and successful serial entrepreneur who most recently founded and led New Frontier Data (2014-2021), adds extensive experience and leadership in financial technology and cannabis to the CTrust team.
- Robert Hoban, CTrust Founding Member & Chairman: a long-time cannabis industry veteran and visionary, C-suite executive, board member and attorney, Hoban co-founded Clark Hill Law’s cannabis industry practice group and has been instrumental in the structuring and drafting of cannabis regulation in the United States, as well as across Latin America and Europe.
- Dotan Y. Melech, CTrust Founding Member & COO: a former federal bankruptcy trustee and a pioneer in cannabis receiverships with experience assessing and managing distressed assets, Melech led the largest receivership in the history of the cannabis industry and is committed to creating better alternatives for cannabis businesses and creditors.
“Federal prohibition wreaks havoc on cannabis businesses that could thrive in other industries but get sentenced to an early death because Chapter 11 and other federal resources are unavailable,” said Melech. “Today cannabis businesses and investors face asset liquidation and full entity dissolution via receiverships at unprecedented rates. In my years as a receiver, I’ve never seen anything like this.”
CTrust’s bundled solution supports cannabis businesses, investors and debt holders in several ways. Its ESM services consist of a holistic process that audits all aspects of the business’s operational and financial performance, scores the business’s credit worthiness like FICO scores do for consumers, and provides a roadmap to improvement and better access to capital. Following the ESM process, CTrust’s Trust Services provide the tools and systems necessary for operational and/or financial restructuring, as well as a viable liquidation effort if necessary.
“CTrust reduces the chaos of federal prohibition for cannabis businesses, investors and debt holders and has already saved cannabis businesses from entering into receivership,” said Hoban. “We built this organization to bring trust back into the cannabis space.”
Currently self-funded, CTrust plans to open an initial $12 million investment round, pending the outcome of its ongoing CTrust Credit Rating Study. Funds raised will fuel CTrust’s national and global outreach as the only cannabis business credit scoring agency and will facilitate the integration of operations and systems of the organizations coming together to form CTrust.
Attend a webinar to learn more:
On Wednesday November 9, 2022, CTrust will lead an open conversation between lenders, regulators, operators, and other legal and financial experts to explore the causes, impact and remedies tied to the critical need for capital in the industry today. Q&A will be open for all participants to interact with experts Bob Hoban, Partner at Clark Hill; Dr. Amanda Reiman, Chief Knowledge Officer at New Frontier Data; Steven Ernest, Vice President at Chicago Atlantic; David Staley, Division Chief – Investigations at the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board; and Sheri Orlowitz, Board Chair at the Council for Federal Cannabis Regulation. Register to attend this complimentary webinar at CTrust.io.
About CTrust:
CTrust tools and solutions increase operational and financial transparency into cannabis businesses to reduce investment risk, help cannabis businesses gain better access to capital, and allow investors and debt holders to more effectively price capital and manage market exposure. CTrust’s proprietary formula and rigorous approach to risk evaluation, scoring and monitoring facilitates more equitable business, investment and debt financing opportunities for founders, shareholders and creditors, keeping more cannabis businesses thriving in their communities. For more information, visit https://CTrust.io.
