EXCITEMENT surrounding GlenWyvis Distillery in Dingwall has reached a whole new level, this week, as the appointment of the very first distillery manager is confirmed and the first target of £250,000 is achieved on the second share offer campaign.
Announcing the new distillery manager appointment, David O’Connor, chair of GlenWyvis Distillery, said: “This is a particularly special appointment as it is the lynch-pin to the next stage of our development, as we move from construction to distilling and production. We had a lot of good interest in this post – but there was one outstanding candidate.
“So we are delighted to bring Duncan Tait on board as our very first distillery manager. Currently distillery manager at Mortlach Distillery, Duncan brings with him a wealth of distilling experience and in-depth knowledge of the whisky and tourism industry.
“He has many years of experience in distillery growth and team development and this is vital to us, as we prepare to open our doors, start our distilling operation and look to develop the GlenWyvis visitor experience. He also has a great knowledge of the local area and local whisky history, and along with his great character and personality, he will most definitely help to make the GlenWyvis brand a success in the global whisky arena.”
Commenting on his new role, Duncan Tait, GlenWyvis Distillery’s very first distillery manager, said: “This is a tremendous opportunity to be part of a distilling journey at the very start, and amazing to become the very first distillery manager here at GlenWyvis.
Duncan added: “I have a strong affiliation with the Easter Ross area, having started my career at Teaninich Distillery in Alness, and I’m delighted to be coming back. There is such a wealth of Highland heritage linked to the distillery and I am particularly interested in how that interlinks with our community development aspirations as we welcome our first tours to GlenWyvis in due course.
“I have enjoyed many years whisky distilling in Speyside and see this as a fantastic career move to join the GlenWyvis team in the creation of the first 100 per cent community-owned distillery.”
The now five strong team at GlenWyvis has been working round the clock to make their second share offer a success with gin tastings, promotions, attendance at local and national events and numerous media and TV appearances.
David O’Connor added: “Coincidentally, as we appoint Duncan, we are also seeing a continued surge of active share offer investors and this has pushed our target over the quarter-million pound mark this week, showing we still have a popular ongoing investor proposition.”
Hitting the first ‘whisky magic’ rung of £250,000 is the first step towards the distillery’s overall aim of raising an additional £750,000 on its second share offer. The funds raised will be used to accelerate the GlenWyvis brand development, to bring gin distilling to Dingwall and to reduce commercial lending costs.
James Proctor, programme manager at Community Shares Scotland, said: “We are delighted to see this ambitious project hit its initial investment target so quickly and also congratulate them on this important appointment of the first distillery manager.
“The growing numbers of GlenWyvis members is testament to the power of the idea of a community-owned distillery. It’s a great example of how a Community Shares offer can involve people and has expanded the idea of what a community business is. We look forward to the opening of the distillery and seeing more people take the opportunity to invest in this pioneering enterprise.”
The GlenWyvis Distillery, which will be entirely powered by green energy, is nearing completion at the Heights of Dochcarty by Dingwall and is on-schedule to open next month.
ENDS
For press information, contact
Fiona Stewart, PR consultant, Interwoven PR
E: fiona@interwovenpr.com/T: 07940560453 Tw: @interwovenpr
Notes to editors:
Duncan Tait distillery manager biography – newly-appointed to GlenWyvis
Duncan has worked for Diageo across all aspects of distillery and distilling management with an impressive track-record with over 26 years in the industry. Working mainly in Speyside – but also with Lothians and West Coast distillery experience.
He brings with him an impressive knowledge of all aspects of distillery, production development and retail management including overseeing the upgrade and expansion work of numerous distilleries. In addition, he has a wealth of Scottish tourism, event management and heritage experience and has worked with many international visitors and markets.
Second Share offer investment
GlenWyvis already had some 2,600 members who invested £2.6 million in the original share offer in 2016 and this new open share offer has already added a further 400 members in just two months. The share issue was launched to capitalise on continued interest from locals and visitors alike. The minimum investment is £250 for all investors, and supporters are also able pay extra to have their name added to the distillery wall or the ‘path to the stills’.
Full details of the open share offer available on the GlenWyvis Distillery website at www.glenwyvis.com.
Investment can be made online via www.crowdfunder.co.uk or www.glenwyvis.com
Distillery build links can be found here: https://youtu.be/11-KyBf8E2M and https://youtu.be/3meRWeyi-DE
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Website: http://www.glenwyvis.com/invest
