Slingsby Gin owner heads into adminstration
UK-based Spirit of Harrogate, owner of the Slingsby Gin brand, is set to enter administration with the business seeking a buyer.
The North Yorkshire-based gin producer was founded by two local businessmen, Marcus Black and Mike Carthy, in 2014. The company also operates the Spirit of Harrogate store and gin experience in Harrogate’s Montpellier Quarter.
The business has now instructed Lewis Business Recovery & Insolvency to assist with placing the company into administration. Gareth Lewis and Matthew Russell have been appointed as the proposed joint administrators.
The administrators have put the business and its assets up for sale, including the Slingsby Gin brand.
The company has five employees. The store remains open and its outcome depends on the potential sale.
“Unfortunately the business has, like many in its sector, struggled with rising costs and difficult trading conditions in recent years,” said Lewis.
“Spirit of Harrogate is one of Harrogate’s iconic independent retailers and the Slingsby Gin product range is very well respected both locally and nationally.
“We are now actively marketing the business and assets for sale as a going concern in an attempt to preserve jobs and maximise the return for creditors.
“Any interested parties should contact my colleague Olivia Oates on 0113 2459444.”
The Spirits Business has contacted the founders for comment, but they have been advised not to provide a statement.
Spirit of Harrogate’s debut Slingsby expression, a London Dry gin, was launched in 2015.
Over the past decade, Slingsby’s range has expanded to include a blackberry-flavoured gin, a marmalade variant, a rhubarb gin, a vodka, and a ready-to-drink line. In 2019, the business reached the £10 million (US$12.2m) sales mark, boosted by the brand’s flavoured expression.
The move into administration comes just two months after Carthy joined Hacien Tequila’s advisory board as a shareholder.
Hacien’s co-founder Seb Francis called Carthy’s investment a “monumental endorsement of our brand and vision”.
“His journey with Slingsby Gin is legendary, and he fundamentally understands how to build a category-defining brand”.
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