Realty Income and Plenty announce strategic alliance for up to US$1 billion of vertical farm development

Realty Income Corporation, The Monthly Dividend Company, and Plenty Unlimited Inc have announced that they have entered into a strategic real-estate alliance to support the development of Plenty’s indoor vertical farms. Under the terms of the agreement, Realty Income will acquire and provide development funding for properties that will house Plenty’s indoor farms. These properties will be leased to Plenty under long-term net leases. The agreement provides for up to US$1 billion of development opportunities.

As the initial transaction of the alliance, Realty Income has agreed to acquire the land and provide development funding for the first farm of Plenty’s indoor vertical farm campus near Richmond, Virginia, which was announced last year. Plenty expects the future multi-farm campus to deliver more than 20 million pounds of produce across multiple crops annually. The first farm to be developed on the campus will grow strawberries with Plenty partner Driscoll’s and initially serve the Northeast market. Plenty already supplies leading grocers on the West Coast and will further expand its California footprint to include Walmart, which is also an equity investor in the company, when it launches its Compton farm in Los Angeles County.              

“We are pleased to announce this strategic relationship with Plenty – whose sustainable business practices align with Realty Income’s values, which include giving more than we take in our community and environment,” commented Sumit Roy, Realty Income’s President & CEO. “Our entry into agriculture technology provides another potential growth opportunity for our company. Over time, we aspire to expand our collaboration with Plenty internationally in markets of mutual interest.”

“Scale is a critical component of advancing indoor farming’s role as a core contributor to our global food supply," added Arama Kukutai, Plenty’s CEO. "Teaming up with Realty Income is a significant step forward in accelerating the deployment of our farms with vertical farm facilities that are purpose-built to support Plenty’s proprietary growing technology. The predictability and positive unit economics of Plenty’s farms make it possible for us to utilize more traditional forms of funding, such as this strategic alliance with Realty Income. This represents an advancement in the way indoor farming assets are capitalized and paves the way for their development as an asset class.”