UK business gas and electricity supplier United Gas & Power has filed a petition to wind up UK vertical farm Smartkas Limited. United Gas & Power says they are a creditor of the company. According to Smartkas, the matter has been settled, and they reached an agreement with United Gas & Power. They expect the petition will be withdrawn in the coming weeks.
The petition was presented on Thursday, December 28, 2023, and United Gas & Power will be heard on Tuesday, February 13.
Smartkas is an Amsterdam-based technical supplier active in the vertical farming market. In 2022, they realized a vertical farm in Harlow, UK, via the British venture Smartkas Limited. The 300.000 sq ft setup included a 12-layer smart farm to produce strawberries. A second operation was set up in the Fokker Logistics Park, Netherlands, by the Dutch Smartkas enterprise.
United Gas & Power is usually responsible for connecting the growing facilities to the water and energy network. The Smartkas Harlow facility is based in a newly constructed living district.
The Smartkas balance sheet of 2022 showed the tangible assets being valued at 4,673,433 pounds sterling. The company's net assets as of December 31, 2022, amount to £4,111,071. The total current liabilities (debts) as of December 31, 2022, are £1,189,952.
The profit and loss reserves stand at (£1,043,935). The balance sheet indicated via the share premium account of £5,154,872 that the company raised significant capital through the issuance of shares at a premium. The directors have stated that, at the time of approving the financial statements, they have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, and they continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting.