Whitby Distillery secures £500,000 to build clifftop site by famous abbey
What's the deal? Whitby DistilleryDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a North Yorkshire craft spirits maker, has secured a £500,000 debt facility to convert two derelict barns beside Whitby Abbey into a distillery and visitor attraction. The loan comes from NPIF II – MerciaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → Debt Finance, part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → II, with Mercia as lead.
Why now? The money funds construction and fit-out ahead of the site's planned opening next spring. Work on the barns, leased from English Heritage, began three years ago, with much of the near-£3 million total raised through crowdfunding.
What's the endgame? The site will host guided tours, a tasting bar, a shop, weddings, and events, and become the company's new headquarters, replacing its industrial-estate base. It is expected to create 10 jobs, doubling the workforce.
Founded in 2017 after a holiday in the Outer Hebrides, Whitby Distillery began producing gin from a utility room and supplying two local shops. It now offers eight gins, three rums, and a vodka made with hand-foraged botanicals, and is exploring sales beyond Yorkshire.
The backers: "To go from a utility room to such a prominent site within the space of eight years is a real achievement," said Andy Clough of Mercia Business Loans. The £660 million NPIF II fund, operated by the British Business Bank, lends between £25,000 and £2 million.
The signal: The deal shows how small producers are pairing production with year-round tourism at high-profile heritage sites to broaden revenue and reach.
Read more: bdaily.co.uk
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