CIC MasterClass, 1st April, 2026 – Wrap Up
Our first CIC MasterClass of 2026 at the Irwin Mitchell offices in London was a huge success! This was an incredibly strong room and a great reminder of how much the UK cannabis space is starting to sharpen.
A big thank you to Irwin Mitchell and Glass Pharms for presenting this CIC MasterClass session, and contributing to the valuable discussions had throughout the evening. It made such a huge difference having that level of insight in the room!
Throughout the course of the evening, a few themes stuck with us.
– On the corporate finance side with Daniel Bastide from Irwin Mitchell, there was a clear sense that M&A activity is there, but nothing is straightforward. Regulatory positioning, governance, and the strength of leadership teams are playing a huge role in whether deals actually move forward.
– On the cultivation side with James Duckenfield from Glass Pharms, the level of detail in the conversation stood out. James discussed UK microbial standards (and how much stricter they are here in the UK than in the EU and Canada at the moment), and small decisions have a direct impact on whether products meet requirements and make it to patients. The UK continues to position itself around quality, but there are still questions around how that translates commercially alongside other markets.
As Mike Morgan-Giles shared yesterday evening, our CIC events are evolving this year. Each one feels a bit more informed, honest, and useful for the folks in the room. This has been consistent across our first CIC MasterClass and CIC Socials events so far this year.
We have more planned over the coming months, and there are plenty of opportunities to get involved. We’ve opened up sponsorships for future CIC MasterClasses and CIC Socials, so if that’s something you’ve been thinking about, feel free to reach out to Nicole Farah at nicole.farah@americanapr.com for more information.
Thank you to everyone who came out and contributed to the conversation! We’ll see you at the next one!
