Member News
North East specialist Corporate Finance boutique, WilliamsAli is pleased to announce that it has supported The Lakes Distillery in securing funding from specialist lender, Beechbrook Capital.
Nestled on the shore of Bassenthwaite Lake, near Keswick, in The Lake District, The Lakes Distillery creates an exceptional collection of spirits and attracts over 30,000 visitors to their whisky distillery each year.
The funding comes at a time when the company is increasing its production of single malt whisky and is beginning to export the brand to major whisky markets such as USA, France, and Japan.
In September 2019, the brand unveiled The Whiskymaker’s Reserve No.1, their first widely available single malt whisky in what has become an internationally award-winning series showcasing their sherry-led signature style. Earlier this year, The Whiskymaker’s Reserve No.4 was awarded the World’s Best Single Malt at the prestigious 2022 World Whisky Awards.
Twice named ‘one of eight distilleries to visit before you die’ by the World Whisky Day campaign, their visitor centre, bistro, and distillery tour has held Visit England’s Gold accolade since 2018 and was voted the Icons of Whisky Visitor Attraction of the Year 2019 by Whisky magazine.
Beechbrook Capital is a specialist lender providing loans and minority equity capital into SMEs across the UK and Europe. Its investment into The Lakes Distillery represents the 6th investment from its UK SME Credit III fund with the transaction being facilitated by Jon Petty, Investment Director and Jake Taylor, Associate Director.
Newcastle advisors played a leading role in securing and negotiating the transaction, led by award winning dealmaker Abu Ali at WilliamsAli Corporate Finance. Legal advice was provided by Louise Duffy at Muckle LLP.
David Robinson, Chief Financial Officer at The Lakes Distillery said:
“This is another important step in our ongoing growth plans as we continue to deliver our ambitious strategy and create award winning products. We have received terrific support from Beechbrook who took such a positive approach to the deal together with the teams at WIlliamsAli and Muckle, who helped us navigate and negotiate the fund raising. We appreciate the dedication of the teams in managing a smooth process throughout and delivering a successful transaction.”
Abu Ali, Managing Director at WilliamsAli Corporate Finance said:
“It's been a privilege to work with Nigel and David on this project and to support such an iconic brand on its future growth. Being an independent and well-connected corporate finance boutique means that we delivered this despite the challenging economic backdrop whilst also raising significant funding from Beechbrook, who were fantastic to work with. This is testament to the strength of the brand, the tenacity of the North East deals market and our in-house technical expertise.”
Louise Duffy, Partner at Muckle said
“The Lakes Distillery is an important, long-term client of the firm, working with lawyers across a variety of practice areas. It has been great to work with David, his team, and the other advisors on the refinancing to help take the business to the next level. There are exciting times ahead for this innovative company.”
Jon Petty, Investment Director at Beechbrook Capital said:
“We are delighted to be supporting The Lakes Distillery having worked with the team closely to build a bespoke debt package that fits with the company’s growth ambitions. We look forward to working with David and the rest of the team at The Lakes Distillery as they continue on their exciting journey to take their award-winning products into overseas markets.”
