GlenWyvis Distillery hits share offer target

Norette Ferns

Friday 20 October 2017 - 12:11

The GlenWyvis Distillery has reached the first target of £250,000 in their second Community Share Offer.

The community-owned distillery in Dingwall already had 2,600 members who invested £2.6 million in the original share offer in 2016 and this new open share offer has already added a further 400 members in just two months.

Hitting the first target of £250,000 is the first step towards the distillery’s overall aim of raising an additional £750,000 on its second share offer. The funds raised will be used to accelerate the GlenWyvis brand development, to bring gin distilling to Dingwall and to reduce commercial lending costs.

James Proctor, Programme Manager at Community Shares Scotland said:

"We are delighted to see this ambitious project hit its initial investment target so quickly and also congratulate them on this important appointment of the first distillery manager.

"The growing numbers of GlenWyvis members is testament to the power of the idea of a community-owned distillery. It’s a great example of how a Community Shares offer can involve people and has expanded the idea of what a community business is. We look forward to the opening of the distillery and seeing more people take the opportunity to invest in this pioneering enterprise."

First distillery manager appointed

The distillery also recently reached another major milestone with the apppointment of Duncan Tait as their first distillery manager. Announcing the appointment, David O’Connor, chairman of GlenWyvis Distillery said:

"This is a particularly special appointment as it is the lynch-pin to the next stage of our development, as we move from construction to distilling and production. We had a lot of good interest in this post – but there was one outstanding candidate.

"So we are delighted to bring Duncan Tait on board as our very first distillery manager. Currently distillery manager at Mortlach Distillery, Duncan brings with him a wealth of distilling experience and in-depth knowledge of the whisky and tourism industry.

"He has many years of experience in distillery growth and team development and this is vital to us, as we prepare to open our doors, start our distilling operation and look to develop the GlenWyvis visitor experience. He also has a great knowledge of the local area and local whisky history, and along with his great character and personality, he will most definitely help to make the GlenWyvis brand a success in the global whisky arena."

Commenting on his new role Mr Tait said:

"This is a tremendous opportunity to be part of a distilling journey at the very start, and amazing to become the very first distillery manager here at GlenWyvis.

"I have a strong affiliation with the Easter Ross area, having started my career at Teaninich Distillery in Alness, and I’m delighted to be coming back. There is such a wealth of Highland heritage linked to the distillery and I am particularly interested in how that interlinks with our community development aspirations as we welcome our first tours to GlenWyvis in due course.

"I have enjoyed many years whisky distilling in Speyside and see this as a fantastic career move to join the GlenWyvis team in the creation of the first 100% community owned distillery."

The GlenWyvis Distillery, which will be entirely powered by green energy, is nearing completion at the Heights of Dochcarty by Dingwall and is on-schedule to open next month.