Ardgowan gains £4.2m investment
Scotch whisky distillery Ardgowan has secured £4.2 million (US$5.5m) in funding as it works towards its first single malt.
Based in Inverkip, Ardgowan Distillery Company officially opened its doors last summer after construction was completed in June. The opening marked the first new distillery to open in Inverclyde in more than a century.
Ardgowan said the £4.2m investment would support the distillery’s ongoing operations, production programme and commercial development. Ardgowan did not confirm where the funding came from but told The Spirits Business it was ‘a fair split of equity and loans’.
In addition, the business has turned £14m (US$18.5m) of its convertible loan notes into equity, including £3m (US$4m) held by UK-based spirits producer Distil. As a result, Distil now holds a 10.5% stake in Ardgowan Distillery Company.
Ardgowan has also revised its existing shareholder and investment agreements to create a ‘leaner, more straightforward ownership structure’ but did not disclose the details.
Roland Grain, CEO of Ardgowan Distillery Company, said: “This clean-up is the result of an enormous collective effort from our investors, our shareholders and our team. The commitments made by so many people to support this distillery in the challenging early stages speak to the belief that exists in what we are building here.
“This marks the end of the early phase of the project, and we are now in a far stronger position, with a clearer structure, a strengthened balance sheet, and a defined path forward.
“We remain focused on what has always driven us: an exceptional wood policy coupled with long-term maturation to recreate the golden era of European oak Sherry cask-matured single malt.
“Such dedication to quality requires patience and investment, though, and I remain open to additional strategic, long-term investment partners as we move towards our goal.”
Ardgowan has invested £28m (US$37m) in the project to date, increasing its production capabilities to be able to produce two million litres of whisky annually in the future.
Ardgowan initially gained planning permission to build a distillery and visitor centre back in 2017, but the project was delayed due to Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Distil, which owns Red Leg Spiced Rum and Scottish gin and vodka brand Blackwoods, invested millions of pounds in Ardgowan in 2021. A brand home for Blackwoods was opened on the Ardgowan Estate earlier this year as part of the deal.
Last October, Ardgowan invested £5m in ageing whisky stocks for Clydebuilt, a range of whiskies made with liquid from distilleries across Scotland.
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