The Highland-based producer is the primary whisky enterprise to obtain funding from Catalyst Fund, a social funding fund operated by Firstport to supply capital for “social companies in Scotland that want funding to develop however are at present unable to safe different social funding”.
GlenWyvis is the world’s first whilly community-owned distillery with its roughly 3,800 members having equal say within the distillery’s governance.
The distillery was based in 2013 by helicopter pilot John McKenzie on his Dingwall farm and granted GlenWyvis a 175 yr lease for a lease of £1 per yr on his farm.
In 2019, McKenzie parted methods with the distillery and the 2 events have since been embroiled in authorized disputes over planning permission and the working of the ability.
Talking on the funding, Jock Ramsay, chair at GlenWyvis, stated: “We’re delighted to have obtained help from such a notable investor who aligns very effectively with our raison d’être. This funding permits us to concentrate on persevering with to provide wonderful spirit while driving the distillery ahead by increasing current markets and seizing alternatives in new ones.
“Our small measurement and this injection give us the power to enhance and develop our market share at a time when the broader whisky trade is presently experiencing headwinds.”
Daisy Ford-Downes, head of group funding programmes at Firstport, stated: “We’re thrilled to help GlenWyvis. As a community-owned social enterprise, it affords a singular mannequin for distilleries, rooted in native buy-in and optimistic neighborhood influence. GlenWyvis is a superb instance of Neighborhood Wealth Constructing in motion.
“The pliability of revenue-based finance will permit them to deliver their formidable plans to life, and we stay up for supporting their journey.”
