Cannabis software provider Helix TCS Inc. (OTCQB: HLIX) saw its share price increase by 7.7% on Monday morning after it announced an expansion into Europe.
The firm has tied up a supply deal with a licensed cannabis cultivator and producer in the UK using its seed-to-sale tracking solution, BioTrackTHC. It is already present in 33 states and it has expanded its global footprint into Canada, Colombia, Jamaica, Australia, and New Zealand.
However, Europe is forecast to emerge as the world’s largest marijuana market in the near future, so firms are busy trying to gain a foothold on the continent. Analysts at Prohibition Partners – a research firm that was purchased by SOL Holdings last week along with fellow assets in European Cannabis Holdings – estimates that the European medicinal cannabis market will be worth €58 billion ($65.6 billion) by 2028.
Germany, Italy, and The Netherlands are the leading lights on the continent, but the UK is one of the world’s largest economies and the potential for growth there is vast.
Helix has nine international government contracts and it serves more than 2,200 customers across the world, providing software and security systems for the cannabis industry. “As international markets develop and more countries create a legal cannabis industry, our technology and service solutions will continue to reach new markets quickly to meet the needs of businesses and regulators in any regulatory environment,” said Zachary L. Venegas, executive chairman and chief executive of Helix.
The firm, which recently appointed former Mexican president Vicente Fox to its board, has seen its share price increase from $0.90 at the end of 2018 to $2 by the close of trading on Friday, March 1. It opened at $2.02 on March 4 and quickly increased to $2.19.
Prohibition Partners believes the UK cannabis industry could be worth £1 billion ($1.3 billion) by 2022 if various obstacles are overcome. Last month Aurora Cannabis (TSX: ACB) announced it had completed its first shipment of medicinal cannabis to the UK, and Aphria (TSX: APH) signalled its confidence in the market opening up by partnering with Australian cannabis producer Althea (ASX: AGH) to launch a UK-based subsidiary.
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