Íslandssjóði Fund Manager Brynjólfur Gísli Eyjólfsson explains Thor Landeldi investment

In early October, Icelandic investment fund IS Haf announced its acquisition of a 53 percent stake in Thor Landeldi, which is developing a 20,000-metric-ton land-based Atlantic salmon farm in Laxabraut, Iceland.

IS Haf was created in February 2023 by Íslandsbanki’s mutual fund management firm Íslandssjóðir (Iceland Funds), has ISK 10 billion (USD 73 million, EUR 70 million) under management, and is focused ocean-related investment opportunities in the fishing, aquaculture, aquatech, marine infrastructure development, ocean products marketing, and marine biotechnology sectors. Its largest investors are Brim and Útgerðarfélag Reykjavíkur, also known as UR Seafood, which is a cornerstone investor in the fund.

Íslandssjóði Fund Manager Brynjólfur Gísli Eyjólfsson spoke with SeafoodSource about the transaction and the fund’s larger goals.

SeafoodSource: Why did IS Haf want to invest in land-based salmon farming, which is still not universally considered a proven technology?

Eyjólfsson: Investing in raw material supply of seafood is a part of the strategy of the IS Haf fund. That can either be supply of wild catch or farmed species. The salmon farming industry in Iceland has been growing fast in recent years. We see great opportunities for further growth, which will partly be in land-based salmon farming. We believe hybrid-flow-through land-based salmon farming will succeed, even though there might be obstacles along the way. There are number of hybrid-flow-through fish farms in Iceland, including hatcheries, post-smolt facilities and on-growing facilities for arctic char, and the experience from these farms makes us believe that this will also be the case with this land-based farm.

SeafoodSource: Why take a 53 percent stake? Does that give IS Haf a controlling interest it will exercise in the management of the company?

Eyjólfsson: Yes, this gives IS Haf a controlling interest. We think the current group of investors …

Photo courtesy of IS Haf