Nc’nean Distillery receives government funding package

By James Bayley

Published: 15 November, 2023

Independent Scotch whisky distiller Nc’nean has secured a Virgin Money funding package with the backing of the UK government to help grow the business in North American markets.

Last month, Nc’nean announced an exclusive partnership with ImpEx Beverages to bring its whisky to the US for the first time.

The move followed recent accolades for the brand in the States including Gold at the prestigious US Spirits Rating and a Double Gold at the San Francisco Spirits Competition for its Organic Single Malt Whisky.

Read more: Diageo profit warning knocks European drinks markets

Nc’nean was also crowned Craft Producer of the Year 2023 at the Icons of Whisky Scotland Awards.

A fully-fledged B Corp, Nc’nean uses 100% organic Scottish barley in a distillery powered by renewable energy from its wood-chip biomass boiler. The business also recycles 99.97% of its waste and bottles its whisky in 100% recycled glass.

Nc’nean’s environmental credentials were one of the main reasons Virgin Money got involved.

Craig Wilson, head of FX sales & trade finance at Virgin Money said: “Nc’nean Distillery has entrepreneurship and sustainability at its heart, and this is embodied in the founder Annabel who we are delighted to have been able to support in the next step in her business growth journey.

“At Virgin Money, we aim to ensure businesses have access to key specialists that can add value at the right time, and by bringing together the skills of our Trade Finance team, who are available to support internationally trading businesses, our Strategic Finance colleagues and UK Export Finance, we have delivered a winning package for the customer."

Virgin Money’s Strategic Finance and Trade Finance teams worked closely with UK Export Finance (UKEF) to structure a deal to help Nc’nean achieve its ambitions. UKEF supported Virgin Money by providing a funding package and issuing a General Export Facility (GEF) loan guarantee which covered 80% of the financing and enabled Virgin Money to complete the transaction.

The GEF product is a flexible government-supported scheme that helps UK export businesses – especially SMEs – to access working capital facilities, helping to improve cash flow or speed up international trade growth.

Lara McGrath, UKEF export finance manager, added: “UKEF is pleased to support Nc’nean Distillery, a small business in one of Scotland’s most iconic export markets, with its ambitious plans to accelerate its growth and export sustainable whisky to new overseas markets.

“We share Nc’nean’s passion and drive for bringing quality, sustainable Scottish produce to new markets, and we look forward to supporting more companies in the Scottish Food and Drink sector with our General Export Facility. This latest deal builds on £325 million in working capital which we unlocked for small businesses all over the UK with the General Export Facility last year.”

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