Couple clean up to tune of £30m with sanitiser firm launch
THEY wanted to lend a hand in the fight against Covid-19.
Now a couple who started manufacturing hand sanitiser only 12 weeks ago are on track to make a fantastically healthy £30million.
Andrew and Rachel Montague set up ClearWater Hygiene to make a highgrade product for frontline workers and the wider public.
They now produce more than 900,000 litres every week at Deeside Gin Distillery in Banchory, Aberdeenshire.
The sanitiser contains 80 per cent ethanol liquid, making it suitable for hospitals, care homes and other public health facilities.
Mr and Mrs Montague, who are 47 and 48 and have four children – Sam, 21, Sascha, 17, Layla, 15, and 12-yearold Elianna – have secured long-term contracts with corporate customers including the Post Office, JD plc, O2 Retail, BP and Aldi. They teamed up with the distillery’s owner Mike Bain, an extended family member, when he switched production from gin in March. The couple, who have been developing commercial and affordable housing for 15 years, say they set an ‘ethical price’ after seeing 500ml bottles being sold for £30.
Mr Montague said: ‘We wanted to make an immediate impact in the market to ensure this valuable product was brought right down to an ethically priced rate while remaining commercially viable.’
The company, which employs 12 fulltime staff and eight contracted workers at its headquarters in Leith, Edinburgh, took more than £3million before the new deals and has donated some of its products to NHS charities.
Business adviser James Horton said: ‘Andrew and Rachel have been phenomenal in the speed of their response to this public health crisis.’