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Halewood buys stake in City of London Distillery

Liverpool-based Halewood Wines & Spirits has made a “strategic investment” in The City of London Distillery (COLD), the only working distillery in London’s city centre, providing its brands with new routes to market.

Halewood Wines & Spirits has made a strategic investment in The City of London Distillery

As part of the deal, the distillery will also benefit from support in marketing and promoting the brands, which include City of London Dry, Old Tom and Sloe Gins, Christopher Wren Gin and Square Mile Gin.

The City of London Distillery will continue to operate independently. Master distiller and managing director, Jonathan Clark, will remain at the Bride Lane-based micro-distillery.

“Being the only gin distillery in the Square Mile has given us a loyal customer-base since we opened in 2012,” he said. “The Halewood investment now gives us the opportunity, not only to continue experimenting and perfecting our existing gin portfolio here in the city, but also to expand our reach throughout the rest of the UK and internationally.”

City of London Distillery’s spirits stable will join Halewood’s existing portfolio of premium gin brands, which include Whitley Neill Gin, Liverpool Gin and newly-launched Marylebone Gin.

Stewart Hainsworth, group CEO, Halewood Wines & Spirits, said: “Jonathan is an incredibly high calibre distiller with a distinctive offering in a busy market. With our focus on craft, Jonathan’s unique proposition and passion for traditional high grade distilling caught our eye and we’re looking forward to supporting him in expanding his premium portfolio.”

The COLD offers interactive visitor experiences such as distillery tours, gin tastings and a laboratory experience, and houses a speakeasy-style bar.

Earlier this month, Halewood revealed it had secured a £50 million (US$61m) bank loan to support its acquisition strategy, which has rapidly progressed in the last year.

In March 2016 the company purchased a 50% stake in The Pogues Irish Whiskey, later acquiring a “significant” stake in its producer West Cork Distillers.

Other brands added to Halewood’s stable in recent months include Liverpool Gin and Rum Sixty Six. At the start of this year, Halewood submitted plans to build the first whisky distillery in North Wales for more than 100 years.

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