The Lakes Distillery

Source: The Lakes Distillery

The Lakes Distillery will use the funding raised to fast-track its growth plans, including trebling production to one million bottles a year

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.”