Manchester gin distillery secures £300k finance package
The deal, provided by specialist bank Aldermore, comes as the UK gin industry reported ‘record breaking’ sales of £2.1bn in 2018.
Co-founder and managing director Liam Manton told Food Manufacture the money would be used to help boost volumes from 15,000 cases of gin sold per year to 300,000 cases.
“To support volume growth, we’re making a couple of executive appointments,” said Manton. “We’re about to appoint a distributor as well to grow domestic case rate and then we are going to be looking to export as well.”
Didsbury Gin has appointed former Halewood managing director Andy Smallman as board advisor, to work closely with closely with the management team to assist in accelerating the brands’ growing sales channels.
Investment into the supply chain
“We’ve already invested in a new bottling line in our supply chain – our bottling partners have spent £750,000 installing a bottling line to help increase production and meet demand. So, we’re already making significant investment in third parties in the supply chain.”
Manton hoped to grow the business by 400—500% by the end of 2019 and achieve a turnover of £3m. The business has already seen 300% growth from January this year.
The support from Aldermore will also help to alleviate cash flow implications that may arise from taking big orders from customers.
“Some customers, especially large ones, expect credit of 60 days or more, and an order might be worth many thousands of pounds,” Manton explained. “During this time, you must pay to produce your stock, and your suppliers might only give you 30 days’ credit.
Cash flow challenges
“We immediately knew that Aldermore understood our cash flow challenge. We have big plans for the future and access to invoice finance means we’re not worried about whether we can afford to upscale our business. It has been brilliant for us.”
Aldermore worked closely with Manton and fellow co-founder Mark Smallwood to provide a finance package that suited their business challenges and needs.
Tariq Bourdouane, business development manager at Aldermore, added: “They [Manton and Smallwood] hadn’t used invoice finance previously, so we were there to aid their understanding and ensure everything went smoothly. We always work hard to make sure our customers have the finance and support they need to achieve their ambitions.”
Meanwhile, the Welsh Whisky Company has announced plans to open a £5m distillery and create new jobs in Llandudno, north Wales with support from the Welsh government.
