AIM-listed developer Trafalgar Property told shareholders that it intends to invest in the hydroponic vertical farming sector as an additional business unit to operate alongside the company’s existing property development operations.

Hydroponics is not a new technology, and has existed since the 1950s.  It is a form of controlled environment agriculture, where crops are grown under cover using technology to ensure crops are grown in optimal conditions, which can be without soil.  Hydroponics is a water-based growth system in which a nutrient solution is pumped around reservoirs in which plant roots grow directly.  In vertical farming, crops are cultivated in vertical stacked levels in buildings, under artificial lights, without soil or natural sunlight. 

Trafalgar was incorporated in December 2001 and its ordinary shares have been traded on AIM since July 2013. The company is the holding company for two property development divisions

Trafalgar said: “Since the company’s move into the assisted living sector, the group has experienced difficulties in obtaining finance for developments in that sector, leading to the loss of the first development opportunity.  The residential division has experienced delays to building programmes, combined with a lack of activity in the market for the company’s units.

“Accordingly, while actively continuing to develop its property development assets, the board has looked at other opportunities where it can utilise its property development skills and diversify into other sectors. It has identified hydroponic food production, which requires significant property investment and expertise, as an area for investment.”