PLANS to build a distillery on land linked historically to Robert the Bruce in Inverclyde have been handed a major boost after the project received a near-£1 million grant from the public purse.
The firm behind the proposed Ardgowan Distillery, chaired by one-time Macallan boss Willie Phillips, has secured £982,000 from the Scottish Government’s Food Processing, Manufacturing and Co-operation scheme.
The funding will contribute to the construction costs of the lowland distillery, with work now expected to commence next year. It is hoped the distillery, which will be built on a 600-year-old estate where Robert the Bruce fought before Bannockburn, will be up and running by 2020.
Ardgowan’s funding is part of a £4.6m package of grants announced by rural economy minister Fergus Ewing at the AgriScot exhibition in Edinburgh yesterday. The grants will support 15 Scottish food and drink companies create jobs and grow their businesses by developing new products, extending existing lines or building new facilities.
According to ministers, the latest grants will safeguard 280 jobs and create 90 new roles. Dumfries and Galloway-based meat processing firm Brown Brother expects to add 50 new staff to its payroll after receiving a grant to invest in its premises and acquire new equipment.
The funding for Ardgowan comes after its developers, led by chief executive Martin McAdam, launched a bid to raise £17m to fund the project in March, having previously raised more than £500,000 in seed funding. A sum of £12m will be required to cover the construction costs of the distillery, which will include a visitor centre, with £5m set aside for working capital. While the owners hope to start distilling in 2020, it will be at least three years after that before the spirit they produce can be legally marketed as Scotch.
Ardgowan’s backers expect the distillery to create six new full-time jobs, with an additional 15 employed in its visitor and retail operations.
The industry veterans behind the project, which include former Bruichladdich and Springbank director Gordon Wright, and ex-Hiram Walker distiller Michael Egan, have been holding talks high-net-worth individuals, family offices, overseas investors and companies in the whisky supply chain over potential investment.
Mr McAdam, who comes from an energy sector background, said that securing the government grant sends an important signal to potential investors. And, noting that talks with investors based here and overseas are progressing well, he said: “It is not just about the money. It’s about the right type of investors who can bring experience and access to distribution networks.”
Meanwhile, the first bottles of whisky have been filled at Annandale Distillery in Dumfries and Galloway for nearly a century. Work to revive the distillery was started six years ago by professor David Thomson and Theresa Church, with the site having been silent since its closure by Johnnie Walker in 1919. It is now producing a peated whisky, Man o‘Sword in tribute to Robert the Bruce, and an unpeated dram, Man o‘Words, inspired by Robert Burns.
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