Lakes Distillery to axe jobs as brand home shuts
Nyetimber has closed The Lakes Distillery’s visitor centre, putting 15 jobs at risk at the English whisky business.
The Cumbria-based producer has stopped tours after closing its brand home, which included a bistro and shop, last Friday (24 April).
Known for its flagship Lakes single malt whisky, the distillery started operations in December 2014 near Bassenthwaite Lake. England’s largest sparkling wine maker, Nyetimber, acquired the business in June 2024 in a deal that valued Lakes at £71 million (US$89m).
Explaining the decision to close the visitor centre, Nyetimber said in a statement: “The financial realities of running the brand home have become increasingly challenging, with factors such as rising cost-of-living, consumer spending habits and broader commercial pressures all having an impact.
“Financially subsidising this part of the business has been diverting funds away from the core financial objectives and growth plans for The Lakes, and as a result, the difficult decision has been made to close the shop and the bistro and stop offering distillery tours. Sadly, this has also resulted in job losses for a number of valued staff.”
Lakes did not confirm if the brand home could reopen in the future.
The company stressed that production has not been impacted, with schedules and volumes unchanged. The production facility operates five days a week, Nyetimber confirmed.
Lakes Distillery will continue to make “luxury English spirits, with a particular focus on single malt whisky”, the statement said.
Brendan McCarron, who joined Lakes as whisky maker in August 2025, leads production.
Lakes products will be available to buy via click-and-collect orders from the distillery’s website.
The statement continued: “The Nyetimber Group will also be carefully considering how The Lakes site can best support its ambitious, strategic goals, which will be shared at an appropriate time.”
At the time of the acquisition, The Lakes announced a 10-year plan to reach a 1% share of the global luxury dark spirits market by 2030.
Prior to the deal, The Lakes had struggled financially in recent years, reporting an audited loss of £1.3m (US$1.6m) in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) on net revenue of £5.8m (US$7.3m) for the year ending 30 June 2023.
Last year, The Spirits Business spoke to Nyetimber’s CEO and owner, Eric Heerema, about his plans for The Lakes, and how he hopes to bring synergy to the portfolio.
The Lakes Distillery is part of the English Whisky Guild, which recently held a week-long celebration for the category on 18-26 April.
The Guild is helping to finalise a geographical indication (GI) for English whisky.
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