‘Pioneering’ distillery bolsters international growth plans with seven-figure funding

Edinburgh’s ‘pioneering’ Holyrood Distillery has secured a major new funding package with specialist wine and spirits fintech Ferovinum, to support its ‘ambitious’ domestic and international growth plans in 2024 and beyond. 

The new £2m plus deal will be used to release capital from Holyrood’s maturing cask inventory, primarily to fund new fill casks and carry cased goods to overseas markets, as the business rolls out a busy programme of new releases and market expansion for its ‘innovative’ whisky, gin and rum brands.

At the vanguard of Scotland’s dynamic new wave of whisky production, Holyrood Distillery was founded in 2019. Today’s announcement follows the release last October of the Distillery’s inaugural whisky ‘Arrival’, one of the first single malt whiskies to be produced in Edinburgh in a century.

Ferovinum is the only funding platform dedicated solely to wine and spirits enterprises. Its proprietary, ‘first-of-its-kind’ technology is deployed to meet the specific funding and growth needs of businesses in these sectors, in a more agile and cost-effective way compared to traditional funding options.

The platform works by holding ring-fenced assets during production, storage, global distribution and retail fulfilment, giving companies the flexibility to convert their maturing stock into capital at any point, whenever it's needed. Ferovinum’s technology also integrates with supply chain, logistics and other business functions to deliver ‘greater efficiencies’.

Holyrood Distillery Managing Director Huw Wright commented: “Ferovinum has allowed Holyrood Distillery to unlock future plans earlier, with ease and speed. The Ferovinum team goes above and beyond to be true partners, finding solutions to any hurdles that arise. 

“Holyrood Distillery has some ambitious plans in place so we require partners who can keep up, see the vision and enhance it. This is exactly why Ferovinum was chosen and asked to come on board, and we are thrilled that they have agreed to come along on this exciting journey with us.”

Ferovinum’s Director of Spirits Gregor Mathieson added: “The Holyrood team has achieved a remarkable feat in the past few years, bringing a thriving new Distillery to the heart of Edinburgh and leading a bold new era of modern whisky making in Scotland. 

“Following the success of their excellent first single malt Arrival, this is their time to grow, and to showcase their highly innovative and extraordinarily good spirits to the world. Their need for partners who share their ambition, and who can provide genuine, specialist and hands-on support, means they are a perfect fit for Ferovinum and our technology.”