Agronomics, which is chaired by Innocent Drinks founder Richard Reed, is raising £ 20million to dramatically reduce the lab-grown meat sector.

The Mail on Sunday understands that the company, which invests in meat substitutes, plans to increase its portfolio from six to 15 in a year.

Its market value is £ 6.4million, so fundraising is a big step.

Reed, 46, who started selling Innocent’s smoothies on a market stall, said: “Agronomy will be able to consolidate its position in the cultured meat business.”

Meat grown in the laboratory is still a small industry with high costs. But producers hope to capitalize on buyers’ desire for ethically sourced meat.

Companies use animal cells to reproduce meat in the lab. Agronomics, which is backed by serial investor Jim Mellon and was listed on London’s AIM Junior Market in April this year, owns a stake in Simply Foods, which owns New Age Meats, a producer of lab-grown sausages. , although these have not yet been proven. commercially viable.

Agronomy, which raised £ 4.5million over the summer, is now reportedly considering stakes in companies developing cultivated beef and chicken.