PRESS RELEASE

Leading Private MSO Secures $35M in Debt Financing for Regional Concentration Strategy and Investment in Local Communities

WASHINGTON, September 15, 2020 — Holistic Industries, a leading private vertically-integrated cannabis operator in the United States, is steadily delivering on its regional concentration strategy and promise to be the best place to work, shop and invest in cannabis. Holistic announced today that it closed $35 million in debt financing in an oversubscribed round of funding led by Altmore Capital. The investment will fuel internal expansion for dispensary and grow/processing facility build-outs already underway, future pursuits including new licenses and distressed asset opportunities, and investments in local communities. This will be the only debt on the company’s balance sheet.

The multi-state operator (MSO), which started on the East Coast and methodically expanded to the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and West Coast, currently operates in California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C., with additional licenses won in Missouri and numerous merit-based competitive license applications in process. Holistic has seen continued growth and dominance regionally, from opening new dispensaries to launching new brands, because of the company’s focus on going deep in specific limited-license states and scaling responsibly by investing heavily in the local communities in which they operate.

“Our regional approach and local focus, along with the strength and experience of our growing leadership team, is powering our expansion while maintaining our core values and our promise to be the best place to work, shop and invest in cannabis,” said Josh Genderson, CEO of Holistic Industries. “We are good stewards of capital, and last year’s funding round demonstrated our value and strategic growth to investors who were quick to respond to this raise.”

With a growing number of dispensaries and grow/processing facilities from coast to coast, the footprint of Holistic’s retail brand, Liberty Cannabis, has steadily increased and will continue to grow into 2021:

• Power of Pennsylvania: Holistic Industries continues to see the power of medical markets like Pennsylvania with the opening of a new Liberty dispensary in Aliquippa in April (during COVID) and record-breaking sales across the state. By the end of 2021, Holistic will have six Liberty dispensaries open in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas.
• Welcome to Michigan: Holistic moved into the Michigan market in late 2019 and is currently constructing a $20M grow/process/retail facility in Madison Heights, scheduled to open in 2021.  The company is building a substantial footprint in the Detroit-metro area converting  dispensaries in Detroit and Ann Arbor to Liberty management in June. Since the conversion they have grown substantially.
• More in Massachusetts: Holistic will open two additional recreational dispensaries in Massachusetts before the end of the year, one in Easthampton and another in Springfield.
• Continued Growth in California: Holistic is currently operating a Liberty dispensary in Gardena and will have four additional dispensaries, a grow/process facility and a commercial kitchen open in California in 2021.
• Moving into Missouri: The company won several new licenses in Missouri and has begun planning its  expansion into that market.

“We’re honored to be the lead lender in Holistic’s debt raise,” said Patrick Kim of Altmore Capital.  “The company has proven time and again its ability to win licenses on merit, to finance and build out efficiently, and to operate profitably. Anyone who visits Holistic’s facilities can see for themselves the key to this success: one of the most dedicated, best led and effective teams in the industry.”

Holistic was represented and advised by Feuerstein Kulick, a law firm specializing in the cannabis industry that has represented lenders and borrowers in many of the largest debt deals in the space over the last year.

Holistic’s organizational structure along with the expertise and passion of its senior leadership team enabled the company to innovate during COVID to transform the retail experience and leverage data through their proprietary Holistic Indicators platform for more efficient operations. For example, they implemented new COVID protocols and processes including cashless and digital payments and curb-side pick-up at their dispensaries, moved education and outreach online with ‘Life with Cannabis’ virtual townhalls and continued to support and invest in the local communities in which they operate with programs including ‘Kick COVID to the Curb,’ a partnership to help drive Liberty customers to local restaurants.

About Holistic Industries
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Holistic Industries is one of the leading private multi-state cannabis operators (MSO) in the U.S. and runs vertical operations in California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C. and soon in Missouri. Founded by Josh Genderson in 2011, Holistic Industries has grown into a national medical and consumer goods company, a cultivation and extraction network, and a Liberty-branded retail dispensary chain. In addition to Liberty, Holistic brands include Strane and Do Drops, with plans to launch the Jerry Garcia cannabis collection this Fall and other brands in 2021. Holistic Industries was founded to provide patients with access to the highest-quality cannabis medicines and has grown quickly with this ethos in mind. As Holistic has entered adult-use markets, the company has built a reputation for delivering exceptional products in a customer-service oriented retail environment.