Overview: Shawbrook Bank has extended an £11 million inventory-backed asset-based lending facility to Glasgow Distillery Company in September 2026. The transaction refinances the Scottish spirits producer’s existing debt and provides additional working capital to fund continued expansion of its whisky portfolio.
The Full Story
The facility is secured against eligible maturing Scotch whisky inventory, a structure that reflects the specific capital dynamics of whisky production where significant value is locked up in casks for years before a bottle reaches the market. Mike Hayward, co-founder of Glasgow Distillery Company, stated that Shawbrook understood the business model and characteristics of whisky maturation. This understanding allowed for structuring a facility that unlocks working capital and enables investment in production to expand inventory while delivering exceptional spirits to customers around the world.
Jeremy Bolton, Senior Director of Asset Based Lending at Shawbrook, noted the bank took time to understand the value embedded in the distillery’s maturing stock before structuring a solution designed to provide near-term flexibility alongside support for a longer-term growth strategy. The transaction was introduced by Noble and Company, with Addleshaw Goddard providing legal counsel.
Brand & Industry History
Glasgow Distillery Company was founded in 2012 with the aim of reviving single malt distilling in Glasgow after more than a century’s absence. The company produces the Glasgow 1770 Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Makar Gin and Banditti Club Rum. The market has attracted capital partly because Scottish whisky exports remain a significant contributor to UK goods trade, with the Scotch Whisky Association reporting multi-billion-pound annual export figures.
What This Means
Asset-based lending secured against maturing spirits inventory is a well-established but specialist financing mechanism in the Scotch whisky sector. Unlike conventional working capital facilities, it recognises that a distillery’s most significant asset is not its receivables or equipment but its bonded stock, which appreciates in value as it matures. For independent distillers, inventory-backed finance addresses a structural mismatch where production costs and staff wages are current, but revenue is deferred by years of maturation. The Shawbrook deal is consistent with a broader trend of specialist alternative lenders stepping into niches that clearing banks often find operationally complex.
Consumer Takeaway
The additional headroom from the facility supports additions to the maturing inventory base for premium Scotch single malt continuing to attract global collector and on-trade demand. This financial structure ensures continued delivery of exceptional spirits including the Glasgow 1770 Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Makar Gin and Banditti Club Rum to customers around the world.
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