Edinburgh-based Holyrood Distillery has launched a £5.5 million fundraising campaign to help fund its ambition to create a distillery and visitor centre spanning almsot 12,000 square feet.

The new single malt whisky and spirits distillery will see malt distilling brought back to Edinburgh for the first time in 90 years.

The funds will be used to renovate the 180-year old City-owned building, purchase and install equipment and provide working capital to cover the early costs of start-up and production.

Holyrood Distillery managing director Rob Carpenter said: “We feel truly fortunate to have the opportunity to be part of bringing single malt distilling back to Edinburgh after far too long an absence.”

The fundraising effort is being led by accountants Johnston Carmichael.

The Holyrood Distillery is the brainchild of David Robertson, former distiller for The Macallan, along with Rob and Kelly Carpenter who are the founders of the Canadian branch of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

Carpenter added: “Kelly, David and I all love our spirits and we’re incredibly enthusiastic about making flavour-filled single malts, gins and other cool tipples as well as creating an experience which allows our visitors to truly immerse themselves in the world of Holyrood.”

Holyrood Distillery will be Edinburgh’s first single malt whisky distillery since Glen Sciennes closed in the 1920s.

It will produce a range of single malts, gins, liqueurs and other spirits.

Holyrood said its whisky distilling process will begin in late 2018 and bottles will be hitting shelves as early as 2021.

Carpenter concluded: “We are confident that by placing a working distillery in the heart of Edinburgh’s capital, with the visitor numbers and cash flow that is expected to provide, we are creating something that is quite different from the typical distillery start-up.”