Lakes Distillery seeks £1.25m for whisky expansion

English whisky maker The Lakes Distillery is aiming to raise £1.25 million (US$1.67m) through crowdfunding to increase single malt production.

The Cumbria-based distiller has revealed a Crowdcube campaign to raise funds to boost its amount of maturing spirit for future stock. Lakes said it is on a journey to produce the ‘world’s finest’ Sherry cask-matured single malt whiskies.

The new fundraising round follows a two-year expansion project by the distillery with the aim of tripling production capacity and expanding warehouse space. Lakes’ maturing whisky stock sits at 1.4m 700ml equivalent bottles and has sold 1.1m bottles to date, according to the Crowdcube page.

The English whisky maker has raised and invested more than £30m (US$40.2m) since it was founded in 2011, including £1.7m (US$1.2m) from a Crowdcube fundraise in 2017.

The producer said it is also aiming to launch into major whisky markets across the globe, with the distiller working in partnership with distributors in China, Japan, Singapore, and across Europe.

Nigel Mills, co-founder and CEO at The Lakes Distillery, said: “We are part of a dynamic and growing whisky market, where the consumer is actively seeking out new and quality taste experiences from around the world.

“At The Lakes, everything we do is focused on creating exceptional flavours and delivering a quality experience, and I genuinely believe we have the right people and are in the right place at the right time to scale our business globally. This is an opportunity for people to join us on that journey.”

As of today (1 March), the Crowdcube campaign has raised more than half of its fundraising target, at £683,357 (US$917,189).

In October last year, The Lakes Distillery expanded its Whiskymaker’s Editions line with a red wine-influenced single malt and a limited edition bottling inspired by the texture of Cognac.