Icelandic aquaculture company First Water secures additional €39m investment

First Water, a company involved in land-based salmon farming in Iceland, has completed a share capital increase amounting to €39 million ($42 million), led by existing shareholders.

Prior to this share increase, the company had raised €122 million in equity. With this latest round, total equity financing now stands at €161 million. At the end of last year, the company also secured €80 million in loan financing from Landsbankinn and Arion Bank.

In total, First Water has now secured approximately €240 million in funding, with investment in the project exceeding €137 million to date.

The company said the share increase enables First Water to complete the construction of phase one of six in Þorlákshöfn.

First Water has already sold approximately 2,000 tonnes of farmed salmon. Upon completion, the land-based aquaculture facility is projected to produce around 50,000 tonnes of salmon annually, developed in six phases, and expected to be fully operational by 2030.

Each phase will contribute approximately 8,300 tonnes of salmon production per year. First Water said the total investment in the project will amount to approximately €825 million, and when fully operational, the company is expected to employ around 330 people.