Published: Nov 07, 2017
Focus:
Finance Durham Fund
The North East’s largest small-batch craft distillery, Durham Gin, is set for rapid growth after securing a £250,000 investment from the Finance Durham Fund managed by Maven Capital Partners.
Founded in 2014, Durham Gin has grown to become one of the region’s leading craft distillers producing gin, vodka and gin-based liqueurs sold under the Durham Gin and Durham Vodka brands.
The company moved into its current distillery in Langley Park in January 2014, selling its first bottle of Gin just one month later. It quickly secured listings in flagship stores across the North East and now supplies retailers such as Fenwick and Majestic Wines. Gin sales in the UK increased by 16% in 2016, with a total of 43 million bottles sold across the country. The UK Gin market is now worth over £1billion and is expected to rise to £1.3billion by 2020.
The investment will allow the business to move to new premises in central Durham to house enlarged production and storage facilities. The new site will also accommodate a small visitor centre, which will provide guided tours of the distillery and host private and corporate events.
Alongside fulfilling its innovative expansion plans, the funding secured through the new Council-backed Fund will also support the launch of Durham Whisky, the North East’s first ever Whisky, which will be produced by Head Distiller, Jessica Tomlinson. The first bottles will be available for consumption in 2021, and customers can pre-order their bottles from the first batch later this year.
The investment into Durham Gin is the first deal from the £20 million Finance Durham Fund set up by Business Durham, part of Durham County Council, it is available to support the growth of businesses located in, or looking to relocate to the County. The Fund is managed by Maven, who recently opened offices in both Newcastle and Durham to further support regional businesses in the North East.
“It was great working with the team from Maven. It was a detailed process and we were working with people who really knew their stuff and who took the time to understand the business.” Jon Chadwick, Founder of Durham Gin
“We are delighted to support Durham Gin’s growth plans via the Finance Durham Fund. Jon is a credit to his profession and a real entrepreneur with a very talented team behind him. As the first of many growing businesses the Fund will support, we look forward to helping Durham Gin in their quest to become the region’s distiller of choice.” Michael Vassallo, Investment Director at Maven
“We’re delighted to be investing the first part of the Finance Durham Fund into a real home-brewed success story. It’s very pioneering for a local authority to do this and we’re very proud to be able to offer support to Durham Gin in such an innovative and direct way. We’re seeing more and more firms start up and grow here in County Durham, and the £20m Durham Finance Fund will support those businesses as they scale up, create jobs and add to the economic prosperity of the County." Cllr Simon Henig, Leader of Durham County Council
