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Top Shelf agrees to AU$8m sale of Melbourne distillery
Melbourne-based distiller Top Shelf International (TSI) has agreed to sell its Campbellfield production facility to IDL for AU$8 million (US$5.1m).
The AU$8m cash sale includes TSI’s canning and bottling lines, brewhouse and distillery, but excludes TSI’s whisky maturation and warehouse facility in Somerton, which is situated nearby.
TSI has also agreed to sell a small portion of its excess bulk whisky inventory to IDL.
Funds from the Campbellfield sale will go towards reducing TSI’s debts.
Upon completion of the sale, TSI will also enter a co-packaging arrangement with IDL for its branded products.
A statement to its shareholders read: “Proceeds received from the sale of the operational and production assets and the excess bulk whisky will be applied towards transaction costs and reducing the Company’s debts, including the reduction of the company’s outstanding ATO excise liability.
“Concurrently, Top Shelf intends to enter into a co-packing arrangement with IDL for the production of its branded products following the completion of the sale.
“Completion of the sale is conditional on the negotiation of long-form documentation, and other customary conditions precedent (including obtaining all necessary third-party consents or approvals, and novation or assignment of associated leases and contracts).”
Established in 2014, TSI’s products include Australian whisky Ned, and Grainshaker vodka. The company also makes Australia’s first agave spirit, Act of Treason, which launched an aged expression earlier this month.
IDL looks after a portfolio of wine, cider, ready-to-drink (RTD) and non-alcoholic products. The company changed its name from Idyll Wine Co in 2023 to reflect its move away from being exclusively wine-focused.
In October last year, TSI voluntarily suspended trading of its sales shares and then explored sales opportunities two months later in December. The company was unable to release its audited financial statements on 30 September 2024.
On 12 April 2024, TSI signed a AU$5m (US$3.1) lease-back deal on its agave farm – located at Eden Lassie in Whitsundays – to an entity related to non-executive director Stephen Grove.
The 430-hectare farm grows Blue Weber agave, and at the time of its planting, it was viewed as having the potential to become a AU$100m annual business.
However, TSI’s full-year 2025 quarterly report, dated 31 October, revealed the sale and lease-back of the Eden Lassie agave farm was abandoned.
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