Shawbrook Bank has extended an £11 million inventory-backed Asset Based Lending facility to Glasgow Distillery Company, refinancing the Scottish spirits producer’s existing debt and providing additional working capital to fund continued expansion of its whisky portfolio.
The facility is secured against eligible maturing Scotch whisky inventory, a structure that reflects the specific capital dynamics of whisky production, where significant value is locked up in casks for years before a bottle reaches the market. Glasgow Distillery Company, founded in 2012 with the aim of reviving single malt distilling in Glasgow after more than a century’s absence, produces the Glasgow 1770 Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Makar Gin and Banditti Club Rum.
Mike Hayward, co-founder of Glasgow Distillery Company, said: “Shawbrook understood our business model and the characteristics of whisky maturation, structuring a facility that unlocks working capital and enables us to invest in production, expand our inventory and continue delivering exceptional spirits to
customers around the world.”
Jeremy Bolton, Senior Director of Asset Based Lending at Shawbrook, said the bank took time to understand the value embedded in the distillery’s maturing stock before structuring a solution designed to provide near-term flexibility alongside support for a longer-term growth strategy. The transaction was introduced by Noble and Company, with Addleshaw Goddard providing legal counsel.
Why inventory-backed ABL suits spirits producers
Asset-based lending secured against maturing spirits inventory is a well-established but specialist financing mechanism in the Scotch whisky sector. Unlike conventional working capital facilities, it recognises that a distillery’s most significant asset is not its receivables or equipment but its bonded stock, which appreciates in value as it matures. The challenge for lenders is valuing collateral that cannot be easily liquidated quickly, which demands sector-specific credit expertise and long-term appetite that mainstream commercial banks do not always maintain.
Shawbrook is one of a cluster of specialist UK lenders, alongside peers such as Clydesdale Bank and a number of invoice finance and ABL boutiques, that have built dedicated capability around the Scotch whisky and spirits sector. The market has attracted capital partly because Scottish whisky exports remain a significant contributor to UK goods trade, with the Scotch Whisky Association reporting multi-billion-pound annual export figures, and partly because premium spirits inventory has historically shown resilience as a collateral class.
Market context and lending landscape
For independent distillers, inventory-backed finance addresses a structural mismatch: production costs and staff wages are current, but revenue is deferred by years of maturation. Without specialist lenders willing to take a secured position against cask inventory, smaller producers face either equity dilution or constrained production capacity. The Shawbrook deal is consistent with a broader trend of specialist alternative lenders stepping into niches that clearing banks often find operationally complex.
The next markers to watch for Glasgow Distillery Company are whether the additional headroom translates into expanded distribution agreements in export markets, and how quickly the new facility supports additions to its maturing inventory base. With premium Scotch single malt continuing to attract global collector and on-trade demand, the commercial logic of investing in longer-aged stock is sound, provided working capital constraints can be managed across the maturation cycle.
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