THE Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Scottish Government’s minimum pricing legislation may not have been the result the Scotch whisky industry was looking for. But there was something to celebrate for distillers of the water of life yesterday.
Ardgowan has become the latest Scotch whisky business to secure a Food Processing, Manufacturing and Co-operation grant from the Scottish Government, with the near £1 million of funding earmarked for the distillery’s £12m construction.
The grants, designed to help food and drink companies expand and create jobs, have previously helped the likes of Isle of Harris Distillers in its critical early days.
Such support is especially vital to start-ups in the whisky sector, given the upfront investment required for equipment and the minimum three-year maturation period that must be observed before distilled spirit can be sold legally as Scotch.
With whisky one of Scotland’s and indeed the UK’s most important exports, any assistance that can help more distillers thrive in international markets must surely be embraced.
But it is not just distillers the grants support. With ambitious targets to grow the value of the food and drink sector to £30 billion by 2030, the grants announced yesterday for farmers, meat packers and bakers are all very much welcome grist to the mill.
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