Diageo announces whisky distillery expansion plans

17-Jan-2014 - Last updated on 17-Jan-2014 at 16:35 GMT

The investment is part of Diageo's £1bn Scotch whisky growth plan

Diageo announced plans to pump £30M into its most northerly Scotch whisky distillery in Sutherland yesterday (January 16).

Plans to expand the Clynelish Distillery are part of the drinks business’s ongoing £1bn programme to increase Scotch whisky production and have been submitted to the Highland Council for review.

It was, however, unlikely the expansion would lead to a significant amount of jobs being created in the distillery, a company spokeswoman told FoodManufacture.co.uk.

£105M investment

Director of distillation and maturation at Diageo, Keith Miller, said he was pleased with the company’s recent investment in the region. “From Muir Ord to Brora, the investment in our distilleries is now almost £105M, which we believe is bringing great benefit to the local economies and communities.”

Six new copper stills were delivered to the company’s Glen Ord Distillery yesterday, as part of the site’s £25M expansion plan to double its output to more than 10M litres a year.

Meanwhile, Diageo’s shares fell by 1.38% this morning.