A new chapter for a leading Scottish whisky business

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15/04/2019

With the help of Clydesdale Bank, Hunter Laing, one of Scotland’s leading whisky businesses, has officially opened a new state-of-the-art whisky distillery to the public.

Set against the serene backdrop of Loch Ardnahoe on the Isle of Islay in the Inner Hebrides, the distillery will have the capacity to produce 640,000 litres of the spirit per year.

The business is now offering full visitor tours, a shop, restaurant, tasting events, conferences and even wedding packages at the newly-established site, which is ideally situated to complement the Islay Whisky Tour and Annual Festival, which brings together whisky lovers from across the globe.

A family business with deep roots in Scotland

Hunter Laing is a family owned independent bottler, which was established in 2013 and is currently run by Stewart Laing and his two sons Andrew and Scott Laing.

Historically, the business bought, matured, blended and bottled malts (usually single casks), with its own bonded warehousing, blending facilities and bottling plant. With the advent of Ardnahoe, the business will now produce its own stock for the first time. This will significantly enhance revenues and cement its position in the market.

For Stewart, who started his career on the Isle, (colloquially known as Scotland’s ‘Whisky Island’), setting up a distillery there was a long-held ambition.

After purchasing land at Ardnahoe in 2016 and using a major lending package from Clydesdale Bank to fund development, construction got underway.

The Ardnahoe site has added fresh jobs for the island’s community, with 30 new staff settling in, split across the production team and visitor centre in full and part time roles.

Our support for the business

Clydesdale Bank has been working with the business for a decade, including under its previous title of Douglas Lain & Co, providing our financing and expertise for a range of their projects including new premises to help them lay down their product for maturation, as well as funding for the new Ardnahoe site.

With research showing interest in single malt scotch whisky is growing around the world, the new facility and the depth of Hunter Laing’s experience in the industry means the business is well positioned to capitalise on this positive trend.

Iain Watt, Commercial Relationship Manager at Clydesdale Bank, said: “Ardnahoe is the 9th Distillery on Islay and we are delighted to have worked with the Directors of Hunter Laing throughout the development. Completion of the distillery is the realisation of a dream for the Directors and as they now embark on the next stage in their journey producing their own finest malt whisky on Islay, we will proudly continue to support them.”

A growing industry

Scottish whisky exports from the UK were valued at just under £4.4 billion in 2017, according to a report from Scotland Food and Drink, developed in partnership with Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank.

In 2017, 1.23 billion bottles made their way across the world, accounting for over 20% of all UK food and drink exports. The impact is so poignant that the UK trade deficit, one of the largest in Western Europe, would have been nearly 3% worse without Scotch whisky!

Iain Watt said: “Scotch Whisky continues to represent an attractive spirits category. Excellent growth has been experienced in the last decade with cased and bulk sales in market greatly benefiting from the opening up of emerging markets. At Clydesdale Bank we look forward to playing an active role in the sector for many years to come.”

Find out more about how we support businesses in the spirits industry. Read the article here: Supporting Scotch Whisky.

Read the Hunter Laing story in BBC Scotland