Dream opportunity
• Investors with right spirit offered chance to own their own distillery
The launch on to the market of a distillery development site at Portavadie, on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, has attracted a great deal of interest from around the world, according to selling agents Baird Lumsden.
Jennifer Campbell, who is marketing the property at the firm for offers over £500,000, says: “Approaches so far have come from both international buyers and domestic private individuals who are looking at it as a long-term investment, but also something of a dream project.
“It is being seen as a much more interesting project in which to invest than most – the opportunity to own your own Scottish distillery has clearly piqued interest.”
But Campbell adds that the numbers stack up as an investment vehicle, and so interest is coming from contenders within the drinks industry as well as those who see it as a potentialy hugely enjoyable and prestigious purchase.
The Portavadie plot extends to 25.48 acres with both planning and building warrant approval for a distillery, bonded warehouse and visitor centre.
It is set in a popular West Coast tourist destination, abundant in wildlife and boasting a wealth of recreational opportunities.
The area is famous for its dramatic landscapes and excellent sailing to the scenic kyles from the Clyde marinas, on through the Crinan Canal and out to the Hebridean islands.
Portavadie is already home to home to a marina and leisure complex, which includes a hotel, spa and pool complex.
Tighnabruaich, three miles to the east, is a thriving village with a medical centre, art gallery, shops and restaurants, as well as a wellregarded primary school.
Campbell says: “Historically, the site was home to the unused Polphail Village, which was built in the 1970s during the expansion of the oil industry.”
The sheltered bay on Loch Fyne was chosen as a location to build a dry dock and yard for deep water oil gravity platforms.
Polphail was built between 1975 and 1977 to house up to 500 workers, but no orders were received and no-one has ever taken up residence.
The accommodation blocks were known locally as a ‘ghost village’. Campbell says: “Its removal has been of significant environmental gain and the cleared site is now offered to the open market with full planning consent and building warrants to establish a distillery in an area of outstanding beauty.”
“The new distillery and visitor centre, which will be designed in the traditional vernacular Scottish style, will make a highly attractive addition to Scotland’s whisky heritage.”
She says that the project’s readiness is a key selling factor. “It was clearly a vision of the owners to create a distillery and they have not only cleared the site but permissions in place mean that new owners could literally start building in spring.
“All the groundwork has been done, and there has been huge investment already.”
“Permissions in place mean that new owners could literally start building in spring”