Bid for new whisky distillery boosted by £1m funds deal

● Government grant paves way for start of £12m project on the Ardgowan estate

Plans to build a new lowland malt whisky distillery have been boosted by a Scottish Government grant of almost £1 million.

Backers of the £12m Ardgowan Distillery project near Inverkip, Inverclyde, said the funding deal paves the way for construction to get under way next year ahead of an opening pencilled in for 2020.

The project is part of a major investment boom currently being seen in reviving historic whisky distilleries or building new ones.

Earlier this week, Ian Macleod Distillers secured an £80m refinancing package which will help support its plans to bring the Rosebank distillery in Falkirk back into life.

The Ardgowan distillery project, which will be based on the Ardgowan estate, secured £982,000 from the Scottish Government’s food processing, marketing and co-operthe ation (FPMC) grant scheme. Distillery chief executive Martin Mcadam – who used to head up Edinburgh-based tidal energy firm Aquamarine Power – said the project will “move Inverclyde up the rankings for food and drink production in Scotland”.

During construction the project will support 35 jobs and contribute over £2m to the local economy. Once up and running, the distillery will create six full-time jobs, with up to 15 additional jobs in the visitor centre and retail operations, and around 47 further jobs created in the wider economy during the first five years.

The distillery has already received full planning consent for the project, which will transform a former sawmill on estate land.

Earlier this year the distillery appointed industry veteran Willie Phillips – who spearheaded The Macallan malt whisky for 18 years – as chairman of the business. Phillips was managing director from 1978 until the company was bought by Highland Distillers in 1996.

distillery has also appointed former Bruichladdich and Springbank director Gordon Wright as adviser on commercial development and sales.

The project will resurrect the name of the Ardgowan distillery, which was founded in 1896 and located in Baker Street, Greenock. After a few years of whisky production, the distillery was used to make grain spirt and industrial alcohol until it was destroyed in the May Blitz of 1941.

Meanwhile, Morrison Construction yesterday said it had started work on the £15m Ardross whisky distillery development in the Averon Valley, 30 miles north of Inverness. The project will involve the refurbishment and extension of a dilapidated farm complex on a private 50-acre site that includes Loch Dubh. It will also house a gin distillery with plans to launch a first product in late 2018.

Last month Ian Macleod Distillers announced that it had acquired the Rosebank trademarks from previous owner Diageo and the distillery site from Scottish Canals ahead of its revival plans.