McConnell’s whiskey gains £22.5m loan
The company behind Irish whiskey brand McConnell’s has secured a £22.5 million (US$30.3m) asset-based lending (ABL) facility to support its global growth.
Belfast Distillery Company, which revived the historic McConnell’s brand six years ago, has gained the loan from Shawbrook based on the business’ maturing Irish whiskey inventory.
The deal will support ‘long-term stock maturation, international expansion and early-stage bulk commercialisation of this premium Irish whiskey’.
The arrangement also replaces previous ABL facilities and provides immediate funding headroom.
In 2024, McConnell’s opened a brand home in Belfast, transforming an old Victorian prison into a whiskey distillery that can produce 500,00 litres of pure alcohol annually.
John Kelly, CEO of Belfast Distillery Company, said: “Reviving a brand of this scale requires patient capital and a funding partner who understands both our growth ambitions and the dynamics of maturing whisky inventory.
“Shawbrook demonstrated a genuine appetite to understand our vision from the outset. This facility gives us the flexibility to continue investing in our stocks, our international footprint and our visitor experience.
“The facility will also provide us with the resources required to continue on our mission to put Belfast back on the whisky map where it belongs.”
The McConnell’s brand went silent in the 1930s and was brought back to life by Belfast investors in 2020.
Oliver Sutton, senior director of asset-based lending at Shawbrook, added: “McConnell’s represents an exceptional blend of premium positioning and international growth ambition.
“We engaged early with management and took time to understand the evolution of the business and the long-term value embedded within its maturing inventory.”
Last May, McConnell’s launched a Cognac cask-finished expression, marking the final release in its five-year-old series.
Related news
