English whisky producer The Lakes Distillery has secured a further seven-figure investment to fast-track its growth plans.
The Cumbria-based distiller issued £4.3m of new equity to investment firm Comhar Capital to support “ambitious” stock build growth and capital expenditure.
The business, which in 2019 secured a total of £3.8m of external funding, will use the latest cash boost to treble single malt whisky production to over one million bottles a year.
Further funds will go towards financing the installation of eight new washbacks to facilitate 24-hour distillation, construction of a new racked warehouse and sales support.
“The new investment will help to sustain our ongoing program of capital investment,” founder and CEO Nigel Mills said. “Our vision is to create a global luxury single malt whisky brand. It’s an ambitious goal and one which means quality is at the heart of everything we do.”
The upmarket spirits brand fell to a £1.8m loss in its latest financial results to December 2018, blaming the costs of a failed IPO attempt for its poor performance.
In 2018, the brand considered a listing on London’s stock exchange that was subsequently pulled due to “market uncertainty”.
Revenues, however, rose 44% to £6.2m in 2018 due to increased distribution across all UK routes to market.
The company admitted that a listing on London’s AIM market remained a possibility.
A spokesman told The Grocer: “While we wouldn’t want to put a date on it, we remain committed to providing liquidity for our shareholders and an AIM floatation is our preferred option and potentially a great source of patient capital, which our business requires.”
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