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Ardgowan Distillery initiates £17m funding drive
After receiving planning permission earlier this month, The Ardgowan Distillery Company has launched a £17 million (US$22m) fundraising appeal to bring investors on board.
Construction on the Ardgowan Distillery is scheduled to start later this year
The project has raised more than £500,000 seed capital to date, with independent chartered accountants Campbell Dallas appointed to advise the distillery.
Construction on the lowland malt whisky distillery on the Ardgowan Estate, is scheduled to start later this year, with plans to be operational in 2019.
Located 30 miles west of Glasgow, the new distillery will resurrect the name of the Ardgowan Distillery, which was founded in 1896 and located in Baker Street, Greenock.
Recently appointed Ardgowan Distillery chairman, Willie Phillips, said: “I think the Ardgowan Distillery is a terrific commercial proposition and Campbell Dallas is the right firm to assist us with this fundraising – they have a strong track record of advising on funding as well as an excellent understanding of the brewing and distilling sector.
“We are planning to build an outstanding distillery of significant scale to make a lowland single malt that will have a distinctive taste and flavour given its proximity to the sea. Our flagship will be a premium seven-year-old single malt, which I anticipate will establish Ardgowan as a single malt of great character.
“Initial production will be around 200,000 litres of pure alcohol and this will rise to over 800,000 at full production. The distillery will be scalable with the option to expand production to 1.6m LPA with limited additional investment.”
Murdoch McLennan, partner, and head of brewing and distilling at Campbell Dallas, said: “The first spirit will be produced in 2019 and the total funding requirement is approximately £17m, which will cover the construction, commissioning and the first three years’ production costs.
“In common with other investments of this type, the distillery is anticipating a mixture of equity, debt funding and public grant support.
“Investment will qualify for EIS tax relief for UK investors, and the Ardgowan Distillery will appeal to high net worth individuals, family offices, overseas investors and companies within the whisky supply chain.”