Phase 1 of Sea Eight's land-based sole farm in the port of El Musel, Gijón, Asturias, whose construction began in May 2023, is nearing completion in January 2025.
Photo: Sea Eight.
Leading Spanish premium sustainable sole farming company Sea Eight said it has secured funding to consolidate its expansion plan until 2026. Private bank financing totaling EUR 14 million is now in addition to the EUR 2 million of public funding provided by the Asturias' Regional Promotion Society (SRP) announced at the end of last year.
With Phase 1 nearing completion, in late December we learned the company would obtain public funds to continue progressing in the successive phases of its land-based sole farm located in the port of El Musel, in the coastal city of Gijón, on the shore of the Cantabrian Sea, whose construction began in May 2023.
Now, with the addition of these private bank funds, Sea Eight already has EUR 16 million fully disbursed, which, it said in a statement, strengthens the group's balance sheet and ensures sufficient liquidity to achieve the milestones set out in its business plan of reaching a production capacity of 1,000 tons.
"We appreciate the trust shown by the banks, and with this support, we are in an excellent financial position to face the path of growth we have been pursuing," said Carlos Buján, Chief Financial Officer of the Sea Eight Group, commenting on the announcement.
According to the company, this financing will allow the group to comply with the financial plan established in 2023, which began with a capital increase of EUR 26 million. It also guarantees the execution of the business plan to support the construction of its land-based sole fish farming plant in Gijón, with an additional capital increase already subscribed for EUR 8.5 million.
Sea Eight added that the proceeds from this formalized public and private financing support its commitment to further increase the production capacity of its existing facilities. According to its forecasts, it will allow them to achieve a progressive increase in sales until 2026, reaching a revenue of EUR 18 million and a consolidated EBITDA of EUR 7 million.
All this adds up to a total asset value of 78 million euros, which strengthens the group's consolidated balance sheet thanks to these planned investments. The Asturias plant is the fourth of the group's sole farms, which has three more, two in Portugal and one in Spain, specifically in Galicia.
The first module of the plant, scheduled for completion in January 2025, will have the capacity to produce up to 450 tons of sole (Solea Senegalensis) per year and will generate 24 jobs in two years, which will be 230 when the land-based sole farm with RAS (Recirculating Aquaculture System) technology is fully operational in six years.
"We are on a growth path to become world leaders in the production of farmed sole using sustainable technology," said Jaime León, CEO and Partner of the Sea Eight Group. "We have profound knowledge, a premium-quality product, and, above all, a great team of professionals committed to this exciting project."
In subsequent phases, the company's objective is to reach a total production capacity of 4,000 tons per year thanks to the development of an integrated process that includes five additional farming modules and a reproduction unit in Asturias, which, Sea Eight highlighted in its release, will represent a qualitative leap in both the production volume and turnover of the company's business.
