A top Scots whisky firm is to expand one of its Moray distilleries after agreeing a new finance deal with the Bank of Scotland.
Ian Macleod Distillers – producer of the Glengoyne, Macleod’s, Smokehead, Isle of Skye and Tamdhu whisky brands – wants to build additional bonded warehouses at its Tamdhu distillery in Speyside.
The development will see six new warehouses built at the site, which will be brought into use in 2015, dramatically increasing the proportion of spirit stored on its own premises and saving cost.
The distillers, which was established in 1933 and employs 100 people across its three sites in Scotland, has seen considerable growth over the past 10 years, organically tripling revenues to £52million.
In 2011, the company acquired Tamdhu distillery from Edrington, which satisfied the existing requirement for new spirit with readily tapped headroom.
Finance director of Ian Macleod Distillers, Mike Younger, said: “The additional warehouse facility at Speyside will provide us with storage space appropriate to our sales demand and support our ambitious plans for growth and further export sales.
“Alongside our export and domestic expansion, we established our first overseas subsidiary in India in 2010 and gave us a foothold in this exciting growth market.
“This is an example of our broad strategy that has enabled us to service an increasing customer demand from emerging countries, including Dubai, Bahrain, India and Malaysia, whilst also supporting our customers in the traditional Scotch markets of Western Europe and the USA.”
Laurence Jamieson, relationship director at Bank of Scotland, said: “The management board of Ian Macleod Distillers is highly experienced and operationally strong, with a proven track record in both making robust acquisitions and earnings improvements. The potential for Ian Macleod Distillers increasing exporting revenue looks strong. Demand for Scotch whisky in Russia, for example, is growing to the extent that it is expected to overtake the UK for consumption by 2016.
“Brazil is predicted to consume over 60million bottles by 2016, a rise of over 40% from current levels. The Scottish whisky industry, as an integral part of the Scottish food & drink industry, has led the way in terms of generating increased export revenue in recent years. With emerging markets increasing demand, the picture continues to look bright for the sector.”