In a tough trading environment, we need your support so Portsmouth remains the home of the best Rum in the UK (GB Food Awards '22).
by Giles Collighan in Southsea, Portsmouth, United Kingdom
Any extra funding will reduce the amount required from equity investors for new equipment. Specifically, our first priority is the purchase of an in-line water chiller to add to our distilling plant. This will reduce our requirement for water by up to 95% and is the first stage of our Sustainability Plan as we look to reduce our environmental impact.
The Portsmouth Distillery Co is an award winning, multi-spirit artisan distillery built with a clear vision, “To restore Portsmouth’s distilling heritage, pioneering England’s authentic aged rum production, introducing quality artisan spirits to a national and international market.”
We need your support to achieve this.
Our fantastic location in Fort Cumberland, an 18th Century Pent Bastion Georgian Fort on the seafront of Portsmouth, serves not only as the basis of our branding but also as the historical backdrop to our story as we build our reputation as the foremost rum Distillery in the UK.
I said we were award winning and our focus on quality in our products and our processes has led to the following:
Southern Enterprise Awards - Leading Pioneers in Gin & Rum Distilling '22 - South East
Forum – Highly Commended 'Best Rum 2022' - Great British Food Awards
Fort Gin – Great Taste Awards 1 Star ‘21, IWSC Bronze ‘19
1968 Unaged Rum – People’s Choice Rum on the Rocks Award ‘21
Cinnabar Spiced Rum – IWSC Bronze ‘20, Craft Distillers Botanical Spirit of the Year ’19
Portsmouth News Business Awards - Best Start-Up of the Year '20
And that's not all - there is one more big one! Read on to find out!
Having built our reputation, we are now perfectly placed to become a key disruptor in the UK rum market as the rum we have been laying down in bourbon oak casks for the last 3 years finally reaches maturity and we are able to get our amazing product, “1812 3-Year-Old Rum”, to market.
It has been a long wait, as you can imagine, but we are extremely proud to announce that our “1812 3-Year-Old Rum” has just been announced as the Winner of ‘Best Rum’ in the Great British Food Awards 2022.
As the first producer of a 3-Year-Old cask-aged rum made in England using a unique methodology we are breaking new ground and, with your support, are ideally placed to take advantage of the forecast growth of 10% pa in the artisan/premium UK rum sector over the next 3 years as it finally follows the growth profile already seen in the gin market.
The financial impact of Covid has meant that we have had to diversify our offering and, as well as our scheduled/bespoke tours, the beautiful Fort makes us an interesting and unique venue for our events. These include a monthly Comedy Night which attracts top level performers, live music sessions and private parties.
Started with our own and family/friends seed funding, we have grown organically over the last 4 years and have a proven track record of organic growth with our established rum and gin brands recording sales of £370k last year through our retail sales and regional network of over 320 pubs, hotels, outlets and distributors.
The truth is, though, that we have hit a ceiling in terms of financing marketing and sales to advertise our products and maximise our clear sales potential. It is also worth noting that Covid-19 has hit the hospitality industry extremely hard and it has still not fully recovered with the consequent impact on sales. This has been further exacerbated recently by the ‘cost of living crisis’.
With this in mind, this initial raise of funds is to support cash flow, as we continue to stabilise following Covid-19, and improve events facilities to maximise our customers’ experience. This will include better toilet facilities, more robust marquees and outdoor heating for the cooler evenings!
It forms part of a larger package as we look for investors to support an equity raise totalling £300k to finance capital equipment acquisition, fund our sustainability agenda and provide marketing and additional sales force to drive increased growth rates over the next 3 years - target sales are £2.6m (70k bottles) in 2025. This takes time to implement, and this first Crowdfund will give us space to get the message out and achieve our aims.
These rewards let you take a bite size piece of our usual Cask Investment Plan. The reward includes provision of your share bottled and labelled with all VAT and Duty paid (there is nothing more to pay). Just prior to fulfilment we will also offer you a bespoke labelling option or to buy back your share at the current market price (minimum 2.5% compound interest per annum guaranteed).
If you would like more information on our Equity Investment Offering or our Full Cask Investment Plan or, indeed have any questions about this Crowdfunding round and the rewards, then please email us on [email protected]
From all the Team (pictured here with Ian Burrell, Global Rum Ambassador), Thank You so much for your support!
This project offers rewards in return for your donation. Please select a reward below.