As filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on August 14, 2020

Registration No. 333-

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

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FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Under

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

GRIFFIN INDUSTRIAL REALTY, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

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641 Lexington Avenue

New York, New York 10022

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

GRIFFIN INDUSTRIAL REALTY, INC. AND GRIFFIN INDUSTRIAL, LLC 2020 INCENTIVE AWARD PLAN

(Full title of the plan)

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Anthony Galici

641 Lexington Avenue

New York, New York 10022

Telephone: (212) 218-7910

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(Name, address of agent for service) (Telephone number, including area code of agent for service)

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Copies to:

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Benjamin J. Cohen, Esq.

Dennis G. Craythorn, Esq.

John Giouroukakis, Esq.

Latham & Watkins LLP

885 Third Avenue

New York, New York 10022

(212) 906-1200

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ◻

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CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

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PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

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Item 1. Plan Information.

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Not required to be filed with this Registration Statement.

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Item 2. Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information.

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Not required to be filed with this Registration Statement.

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PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

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References in this Registration Statement to “we,” “us,” “our,” and the “Company,” or similar references, refer to Griffin Industrial Realty, Inc., unless otherwise stated or the context otherwise requires.

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Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

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The following documents, which have been filed by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), are incorporated by reference in, and shall be deemed to be a part of, this Registration Statement:

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(a) the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2019, filed with the Commission on February 13, 2020 (File No. 001-12879);

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(b) the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended February 29, 2020, filed with the Commission on April 9, 2020 (File No. 001-12879);

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(c) the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended May 31, 2020, filed with the Commission on July 9, 2020 (File No. 001-12879);

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(d) the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the Commission on July 6, 2020 (File No. 001-12879) (except for information furnished in Item 7.01 therein and all exhibits related thereto);

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(e) the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the Commission on May 12, 2020 (File No. 001-12879);

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(f) the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the Commission on March 4, 2020 (except for information furnished in Item 7.01 therein and all exhibits related thereto) (File No. 001-12879);

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(g) the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the Commission on January 28, 2020 (except for information furnished in Item 7.01 therein and all exhibits related thereto) (File No. 001-12879);

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(h) the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the Commission on December 23, 2019 (except for information furnished in Item 7.01 therein and all exhibits related thereto) (File No. 001-12879); and

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(i) the description of Common Stock, which is contained in the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-3, filed with the Commission on April 11, 2018, including any amendments or reports filed for purposes of updating such description (including the Description of Capital Stock filed as Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2019).

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All reports and other documents filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date hereof and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered pursuant to this Registration Statement have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and to be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents or reports.

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For purposes of this Registration Statement, any document or any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated herein by reference shall be deemed to be modified or superseded to the extent that a subsequently filed document or a statement contained therein, or in any other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference, modifies or supersedes such document or such statement in such document. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

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Item 4. Description of Securities.

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Not applicable.

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Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

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Not applicable.

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Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

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Section 102 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware permits a corporation to eliminate the personal liability of directors of a corporation to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for a breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except where the director breached his or her duty of loyalty, failed to act in good faith, engaged in intentional misconduct or knowingly violated a law, authorized the payment of a dividend or approved a stock repurchase in violation of Delaware corporate law or obtained an improper personal benefit. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, as amended, or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by the laws of the State of Delaware, no director of Griffin Industrial Realty, Inc. shall be personally liable to the Company or its stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except to the extent that the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware prohibits the elimination or limitation of liability of directors for breaches of fiduciary duty.

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Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware provides that a corporation has the power to indemnify a director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation, or a person serving at the request of the corporation for another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise in related capacities against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with an action, suit or proceeding to which he or she was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, ending or completed action, suit or proceeding by reason of such position, if such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, in any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful, except that, in the case of actions brought by or in the right of the corporation, no indemnification shall be made with respect to any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or other adjudicating court determines that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all of the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.

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Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide indemnification for our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware. We will indemnify each person who was or is a party or threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding (other than an action by or in the right of us) by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director, officer, employee or agent or is or was serving, or has agreed to serve, at our request as a director, officer, partner, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise (all such persons being referred to as an “Indemnitee”), against all expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred in connection with such action, suit or proceeding and any appeal therefrom, if such Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, our best interests, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, he or she had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful.

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Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that we will indemnify any Indemnitee who was or is a party or threatened to be made a party to an action or suit by or in the right of us to procure a judgment in our favor by reason of the fact that the Indemnitee is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of our or is or was serving, or has agreed to serve, at our request as a director, officer, partner, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, or by reason of any action alleged to have been taken or omitted in such capacity, against all expenses (including attorneys’ fees) and, to the extent permitted by law, amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred in connection with such action, suit or proceeding, and any appeal therefrom, if the Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, our best interests, except that no indemnification shall be made with respect to any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to us, unless a court determines that, despite such adjudication but in view of all of the circumstances, he or she is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnification of such expenses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent that any Indemnitee has been successful, on the merits or otherwise, he or she will be indemnified by us against all expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred in connection therewith. Expenses must be advanced to an Indemnitee under certain circumstances.

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We have entered into separate indemnification agreements with certain of our directors and executive officers. Each indemnification agreement provides, among other things, for indemnification to the fullest extent permitted by law and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws against any and all expenses, judgments, fines, penalties and amounts paid in settlement of any claim. The indemnification agreements provide for the advancement or payment of all expenses to the indemnitee and for the reimbursement to us if it is found that such indemnitee is not entitled to such indemnification under applicable law and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws.

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We maintain a general liability insurance policy that covers certain liabilities of directors and officers of our corporation arising out of claims based on acts or omissions in their capacities as directors or officers.

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Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.

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Not applicable.

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Item 8. Exhibits.

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The following documents are filed as exhibits to this Registration Statement:

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*  Filed herewith.

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Item 9. Undertakings.

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(a) The undersigned Company hereby undertakes:

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(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

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(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

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(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in this Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and

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(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement or any material change to such information in this Registration Statement.

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provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) shall not apply if the registration statement is on Form S-8, and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by or furnished to the Commission by the Company pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.

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(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

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(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

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(b) The undersigned Company hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Company’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered herein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

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(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Company has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Company of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Company in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Company will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

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SIGNATURES

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Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the city of  New York, state of New York, on the 14th day of August, 2020.

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POWER OF ATTORNEY

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KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Anthony J. Galici, as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this registration statement (including post-effective amendments or any abbreviated registration statement and any amendments thereto filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, increasing the number of securities for which registration is sought), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Commission, granting unto said attorney-in-fact, proxy, and agent full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully for all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact, proxy and agent, or his substitute, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

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Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

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