Holyrood raises £5.8m for distillery and visitor centre

Holyrood is on track to become Edinburgh’s first single malt whisky distillery in 90 years after raising £5.8 million (US$8.3m).

Plans for the distillery were approved by the City of Edinburgh Council last year, and will see the city’s Engine Shed building converted into a distillery and visitor centre.

Construction of Holyrood Distillery will get under way in May, with an aim to officially open in spring 2019.

The £5.8m worth of funding was sourced from 60 private investors from around the globe, as well as £1.5m from the Scottish Investment Bank, Scottish Enterprise’s investment arm.

The money will be used to renovate the 180-year-old city-owned building, purchase and install equipment, create the visitor experience and provide working capital to cover the early costs of start-up and production. It is thought the distillery will create 35 new jobs in Edinburgh.

Rob Carpenter, founder, Holyrood Distillery, said: “We can now move on to the fun part – building our new distillery and visitor centre and making delicious spirits.

“We want our customers to be our guides, helping us shape and build the spirits and flavours that they most enjoy.

“It’s a new collaborative approach to spirit production that we are all truly excited about and one which we believe offers something quite different from other distilleries.”

The distillery is a joint venture between David Robertson, former master distiller for The Macallan, and Rob and Kelly Carpenter, founders of the Canadian branch of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Jack Mayo has already been appointed as head distiller.

Holyrood Distillery will first make a series of gins and liqueurs while its single malts come of age.