Scythian Real Estate Acquires Two Cannabis Retail Facilities in North Dakota
June 2, 2020
Scythian Real Estate, a Denver-based cannabis real estate business and trusted partner to well-capitalized cannabis operators throughout the U.S., recently announced the acquisition of two marijuana retail properties in North Dakota at a total cost of $3.4 million.
One of the properties acquired in the real estate deal is a 4,500-square-foot facility at 310 US-2 in Devils Lake, ND. The second property is a 4,995-square-foot facility at 318 24th St. East in Dickinson, ND. The Devils Lake structure recently underwent renovations, and the Dickinson facility is newly constructed.
Scythian Sale-and-Leaseback Deal for Successful Marijuana Retail Properties in North Dakota
The cannabis facilities acquired in the real estate transaction are operated by Grassroots Cannabis, one of the largest private, vertically integrated, multi-state cannabis operators in the country. The North Dakota dispensaries bought by Scythian Real Estate will continue to be operated by Grassroots Cannabis as part of a sale/leaseback deal in which Grassroots sells the real estate properties to Scythian, and Scythian then leases back the properties to Grassroots. Steven Weisman, co-founder of Grassroots Cannabis, emphasized the benefits of the deal being structured in this way: “This sale-and-leaseback agreement with Scythian represents a non-dilutive capital solution for Grassroots Cannabis as we expand our retail operations.”
The North Dakota locations operate under the store name Herbology, an adult-use cannabis business which specializes in high-quality medical marijuana products such as flowers, extracts, tinctures, vape cartridges, and topical lotions. Herbology also offers patient consulting services at the two locations.
Scythian Real Estate: Ongoing Acquisitions and Partnerships with Experienced Cannabis Operators
Randy Roberts, a partner at Scythian, noted that Scythian Real Estate Fund LLC made a point of working with Grassroots Cannabis because of the North Dakota company’s “proven track record of success.” Mr. Roberts added that the two properties acquired in the deal “are well-positioned to support the long-term growth of Scythian’s portfolio.”
Scythian already has 18 stand-alone cannabis retail properties under management and an investment fund currently valued at nearly $40 million. Several of these assets are located in Colorado and managed by The Green Solution, an industry leader and the state’s largest vertically integrated cannabis operator.
Scythian has an existing acquisition pipeline of cannabis real estate properties. The company is also looking toward the future by identifying additional opportunities to acquire cannabis retail properties and to partner with sophisticated cannabis operators that are looking to expand their reach to new markets.