County Durham gin maker WL Distillery has launched plans to raise £300,000 to ramp up expansion.
The South Hetton-based distillery recently marked three years since its first bottle of gin left the distillery, and has since picked up industry awards including gold at The Gin Masters, making Vogue’s Hot List, GQ’s Cocktail Club and a listing in the London Spirits Top 100 spirits.
The team has also unveiled plans to investment more into the business, to help it produce more drinks and reach a wider market. As part of the growth strategy the team have launched an equity fund through Take a Punt, to support the further scale-up of the distillery.
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The company wants to raise £300,000 to put into the business, with people interested in backing the business asked to make minimum ‘punts’ of £100.
Scott Wilson-Laing, founder at WL Distillery, said: “The Equity Fund gives investors the opportunity to be part of our exciting distillery and our future plans through expanding our product portfolio and to assist in developing our export growth strategy especially around the USA. It’s a really exciting time and a great opportunity for investors as we accelerate our growth strategy and focus on expansion.”
Mr Wilson-Laing says Take a Punt (TAP) connects creators of ideas, with independent, open-minded backers, who are prepared to ‘take a punt’ on the ideas, the projects and the people of the future. TAP provides its clients with a range of services, resources, and solutions via a subscribed community to either help get funding or opportunities to invest in, even if individuals are not high wealth.
He said: “Throughout our growth journey we’ve had fantastic support from a range of businesses and individuals, and we are forever grateful for their support. The launch of the Equity Fund is a great way for people to continue to be a part of the journey and support the future growth of the distillery. It’s a really exciting time and a great opportunity for investors, we’ve made it as accessible as possible with investment opportunities from just £100, and we are really excited to see this launch to assist in driving forward our ambitious plans.”
The firm’s flavoured gins have proved a hit this summer, with recent releases including watermelon and liquorice. The distillery has also been shortlisted in the Great British Entrepreneur Awards for the Maker and Creator category.
