Britain's Ocado invests 17 mln stg in vertical farming

LONDON, June 10 (Reuters) - British online grocer and technology company Ocado has invested 17 million pounds ($21.6 million) in the newly emerging vertical farming industry, it said on Monday.

Vertical farming involves the production of food in indoor facilities where crops are grown on a series of levels in a precisely-controlled environment.

Ocado said it has formed a joint venture with vertical farming participants 80 Acres Farms and Priva Holding, and has also acquired a 58% stake in Jones Food Company, Europe’s largest operating vertical farm, based in Scunthorpe, northern England. Together the equity investments will total 17 million pounds.

($1 = 0.7871 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton)