The British Honey Company has completed a six-figure sum fundraising to help it expand further in the premium spirits market.
The Buckinghamshire-based group raised just more than £500k in a placing of shares with existing institutional investors.
It will use the funds to drive product expansion and support the “exciting growth prospects” of the company, including moving from its distillery in Worminghall, Buckinghamshire to a site in Market Harborough.
The group said it would also help bring immediate cost savings and an overall strengthening of the balance sheet.
British Honey Company began trading in 2014 as a honey producer before expanding into making honey infused spirits.
Today is distils a whole range of vodka, rum, bourbon and whiskey, as well as making ready-to-drink cocktail pouches.
To reflect its expanding product range and the increasing breadth of the offering, the board has also decided to change the company’s name to Union Distillers.
Alongside the announcement of the fundraising and the change of name, the business revealed it had also appointed interim chief executive Mark Jones to the role on a permanent basis.
Chairman Richard Day said: “Mark Jones joined us on an interim basis in October last year and has succeeded in stabilising our operations and helping develop a twin-track strategy for growth across our white label and own brand operations.”
He added: “Now is the right time to change the company’s name. This will allow us to present ourselves more clearly for what we are; a closely aligned team working together to provide a range of spirits, drinks and services to our customers and partners. This will not impact in any way on our range of brands and trading names.”
Day said the business had made “a good start” to the current financial year and was “encouraged” by the order book for the first quarter and beyond.
“We have every confidence in our strategy and the Company’s growth prospects,” he added.
British Honey Company is traded on the Aquis Stock Exchange.
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