A SCOTCH whisky business has announced plans for a major investment in Scotland including new headquarters and a new whisky museum.

Scotch Whisky Investments (SWI) has heralded the delivery of a new mixed-used development in Falkland, which will incorporate a new corporate headquarters building, and an expansion of a proposed whisky storage facility in Glenrothes.

The international business, which is involved in the whisky asset management sector, has a license to offer financial investment products in the form of bottles and casks of single malt Scotch whisky issued by the Dutch Authority for Financial Markets.

SWI seeks to showcase the history of, and educate people about single malt Scotch whisky, as well as promote investment in the commodity.

As part of this vision, it is seeking to deliver a new iconic corporate headquarters building with restaurants, museum and hotel accommodation, as well as extensive community facilities for the village of Falkland, at the site of the former St John’s Works.

SWI said it will deliver significant investment, creating employment and tourism opportunities in Fife.

The 3.64-hectare St John’s Work’s site, formerly a linoleum factory and then taken over by Smith Anderson, a manufacturer of paper bags before its closure in 2013 and subsequent demolition, is located to the south of the urban edge of Falkland.

It is also intended to relocate the world-famous Valentino Zagatti whisky collection, one of the largest in the world, from the Netherlands to a museum within the building. Comprising more than 3,000 bottles, close to 300 whisky brands, most of which are extremely rare, the collection was created by Italian, Valentino Zagatti.

Falkland is set to further benefit with the addition of new community facilities, in the form of an additional public car park, with a multi-use village green, micro-forest and play park, in the heart of the site.

The Falkland development forms part of a multi-million-pound investment in Fife, that also includes a single malt Scotch whisky storage and bottling facility in Glenrothes.

Keith Rennie, director for Scotch Whisky Investments, said: "We are delighted to be bringing forward ambitious proposals for Falkland and Glenrothes as part of a significant investment programme for Fife."


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