VANCOUVER, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Urban Barns Foods Inc. (URBF.OB) (formerly HL Ventures),is pleased to announce the resignation of Deniz Hassan and Adrian Lee. Mr. Hassan and Mr. Lee both served on the company's board of directors. Additionally, Mr. Hassan resigned from his position as the company's CFO, Treasurer and Secretary. Mr. Hassan and Mr. Lee resigned in anticipation of the closing of a share exchange agreement with Urban Barns Foods, Inc, a privately held, leading-edge provider of fruit and vegetables, and not due to any disagreements with the company.

The company appointed Dan Meikleham, the company's Interim Chairman, to fill the positions as Chief Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer, Treasurer and Secretary.

Mr. Meikleham formally acted as the Chief Financial Officer for a publicly listed corporation in Saudi Arabia with a market capitalization of approximately $1 billion. He was hired by the company in 2005 to assist it with obtaining a listing on the Saudi stock market, and worked with the IPO team, to raise $139 million U.S. Dollars in August of 2006. Following the successful IPO, Mr. Meikleham was retained as the company's CFO and appointed as the Secretary to the Board of Directors and a personal consultant to the Managing Director. During the past three years, the company's sales have increased from SR 300 million to SR 1.15 billion with net profits of 20% and return on equity of 25%.

Mr. Meikleham worked in the insurance business for 28 years with three major insurance corporations, culminating in a seven year stint with the Prudential Insurance Company of America during which he was honored five times as President of the Gibraltar Club for being their top national producer. From 1998 to 2000, Mr. Meikleham also served as a co-founder and Director of a Puerto Rico venture capital fund. Mr. Meikleham was educated at the Central College of Commerce and Distribution in Glasgow, Scotland, where he won the annual national British-wide government competition in mathematics.

About Urban Barns Foods Inc.:

Urban Barns Foods, the private company to be acquired by Urban Barns Foods Inc. (formerly HL Ventures), the public company and issuer of this release, uses proprietary equipment to produce affordable fruits and vegetables in a secure and controlled indoor environment. By setting up subsidiary facilities and growing locally, Urban Barns Foods can focus on supplying any community, irrespective of the regional climate, effectively reducing shipping times and related spoilage costs. Urban Barns Foods has the unique ability to scale and cater to the demands of all major communities. Our commitment to our consumers is reflected through our motto, "Purely Fresh, Naturally Tasty, Completely Healthy."

Urban Barns Foods and Urbanbarnsfoods.com are registered trademarks and the copyright of Urban Barns Foods Inc. All other company and product names mentioned are used only for identification purposes and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties. See Urban Barns Foods Inc.'s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission which identify specific factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

See Urban Barns Foods Inc.'s current report on Form 8-K dated October 9, 2009 regarding the proposed share exchange transaction with Urban Barns Foods Inc., a private Alberta corporation ("Priveco"), for details on various conditions that must be fulfilled before the closing of the transaction. There can be no assurance that the transaction will close, and Urban Barns Foods Inc. must issue 25,000,000 shares of its common stock to the current shareholders of Priveco in order for this to occur. Accounting for the anticipated cancellation of 20,500,000 shares of its common stock, upon the closing of the transaction Urban Barns Foods Inc. will have 47,900,000 issued and outstanding shares of common stock.

SOURCE Urban Barns Foods Inc.

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