Funding platform Ferovinum and The Borders Distillery Company Limited in Hawick have agreed a £35 million funding package to support the distillery for the next three years.
Ferovinum said the new arrangement will enable The Borders Distillery — the first to operate in the Scottish Borders since 1837 and recent winner of the World Whiskies Awards Best Scotch New Make award — to grow its business and develop its core strengths in advance of the eventual release of its Single Malt Scotch Whisky.
“As a first-of-its-kind funding platform dedicated to unlocking growth for wine and spirits enterprises, Ferovinum will also provide The Borders Distillery with specialist operations and supply chain tools to support trading in the UK, Europe and the USA,” said Ferovinum.
The Borders Distillery MD John Fordyce said: “We are delighted to have found a partner in Ferovinum and its excellent team.
“We share the same ambitions to grow, enthusiasm for the Scotch Whisky industry and commitment to deploy technology to facilitate growth in multiple markets.”
Ferovinum said its platform delivers “a more agile and efficient funding solution by holding assets during production, storage, distribution and fulfilment, giving companies end-to-end capabilities, funding the full production and distribution cycles.”
Ferovinum said access to its platform also enables clients “to benefit from seamless integration with freight, storage and fulfilment providers along with payments, licensing and commercial infrastructure to enable optimised trading and streamlined access to key export markets.”
Ferovinum Director of Spirits Gregor Mathieson said: “We are very proud to be supporting The Borders Distillery during their next phase of growth.
“It is six years since the stills started running at their extraordinary site in Hawick, and the dedication to making great whisky as well as being a force for good in the Borders community is palpable amongst the whole team.
“Ferovinum was created to provide ambitious, visionary drinks businesses like this with the backing and specialist support they need to achieve their goals, and we are very excited to be partnering with John and the team for the journey ahead.’
The Borders Distillery was advised by Scottish corporate finance advisory boutique Noble & Co.