The Lakes Distillery has been named in the top 50 fastest-growing privately-owned food and drinks businesses in the UK.
The company, based at Setmurthy near Bassenthwaite, boasted compound annual growth (CAGR) of 34.7 per cent and revenue of £6.2m to claim its place in the prestigious Alantra Food & Beverage Fast 50.
It was the only whisky company in the top 20 and the sole English whisky business on the annual list, which has been produced for more than a decade. The Fast 50 tracks the last two years of growth and offers an insight into how companies have innovated to take advantage of fast-moving market trends, while also showing a consistent commitment to product quality and customer service.
The Lakes Distillery is currently exploring additional funding opportunities, with a £3.75 million investment from Gresham House Asset Management last year cited by Alantra as showing how raising capital investment can drive ambition.
Nigel Mills, co-founder and chief executive at The Lakes Distillery, said: “As part of our vision to create one of the world’s leading single malt whiskies, we are investing in trebling our distillation capacity to meet future demand. The market is global and we need to have the right quantity of aged stock to continue our growth.
“If you recognise an opportunity like this and have the best people in the world, you have to be ready to seize the initiative. We needed investment to build a business that is in the right shape to be as successful as we expect it to be.”