Rebranded Halewood opens vodka plant in Russia

By Mathew Lyons

Published: 08 September, 2020

Halewood Wines & Spirits, which is to rebrand as Halewood Artisanal Spirits, has opened a new vodka distillery in the Russian city of St Petersburg.

The distillery is the result of a £5m investment and is primarily intended to deepen the provenance of the JJ Whitley vodka range, which will now be produced and bottled at the site.

Stewart Hainsworth, group chief executive of Halewood, said: “Opening the distillery in St Petersburg marks a big step forward for our artisanal spirits offering.

"It enables us to offer truly authentic vodka which is distilled in one of Russia’s most historic cities, using superlative quality Russian grain and water.”

The St Petersburg distillery is Halewood’s 13th worldwide and is the first British-owned vodka distillery in Russia.

The company opened a Whitley Neill Bar & Kitchen in Saint-Petersburg in September 2019.

Last month, Halewood announced plans to close its headquarters at Huyton on Merseyside, a 30-acre site with six bottling lines.

It also shuttered its US office in Miami in March this year, less than a year after it opened. Both closures were attributed by the company to the impact of Covid-19.

Last year, Halewood’s turnover grew 26%, with pre-tax profits up 15% to £26.3m.

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