Halewood secures £50m to grow portfolio

Whitley Neill gin maker Halewood Wines & Spirits has secured a £50 million (US$61m) bank loan to support its acquisition strategy.

Halewood owns the Whitley Neill gin brand

The ‘debt facility’, from Royal Bank of Scotland, will support the growth of the Liverpool-based firm’s management team and help it develop a “balanced portfolio of spirits brands”.

Halewood’s acquisition strategy has rapidly progressed over the past year – in March last year 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.

“The partnership with RBS is another important step forward in Halewood’s strategic plan to build a portfolio of distinctive brands with strong local provenance,” said Stewart Hainsworth, CEO of the company.

Halewood is a family owned business with international operations and exports to 90 countries worldwide. It has £215m in turnover and employs more than 300 staff in the UK.

“Our asset based lending facility fits perfectly with their [Halewood’s] ambitions, providing a source of flexible, cost-effective financing, with key terms built around the strategic plan,” said Andy Pickford, director of asset based lending at RBS.

“We are confident that this funding will support the company’s growth ambitions in the coming years.”

Last week, Halewood struck a sponsorship deal with Liverpool Football Club for its Liverpool Vodka brand, which will run until 2020.