European Cannabis Holdings, a U.K.-based medical cannabis investment group, completed its initial round of funding to raise £3 million, lining up the company for an IPO in London in early 2019.

The company said in an Oct. 18 press release that the funding has prepared it for "aggressive growth" through improved access to capital markets, a broadened ownership base and wide brand recognition.

The funding will also allow European Cannabis to deploy more capital into ancillary platforms, data and brands that could have significant upside potential during the next 12 to 18 months.

European Cannabis appointed Dean Friday as its CFO and Hannah Simon as COO.

Simon has prior experience working for Morgan Stanley and Ernst & Young. The company said that Friday has experience with capital markets and taking businesses through periods of high growth.

The company also appointed Jeremy Edelman as its board chairman. He is joined on the board by Andy DeFrancesco and Mike Barnes along with European Cannabis' founding partners, Rob Reid and Ben Langley.