Local distillery owners in high spirits following support from Business Gateway

About the business

Joint owners Jonny Ingledew and Kate Macdonald have used Business Gateway’s one-to-one business support and fully funded workshops throughout the planning stages of their new business venture, North Uist Distillery to produce their new spirit: Downpour.

With a Masters’ degree in distilling, Jonny was well equipped with the theoretical experience, passion and an initial concept, but it was Business Gateway that provided the practical experience necessary to form a business plan that would bring North Uist Distillery to market.

Not only does it include double the number of botanicals as standard gin, but no other gin is distilled on the islands of Uist. Clear in the bottle, cloudy in the glass, essential oils from juniper berries and citrus peels give the gin a distinctive cloudy appearance when diluted with tonic.

How Business Gateway has helped

Business Gateway assisted North Uist Distillery’s joint-owners from a holistic, business perspective and coordinated monthly meetings with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, guiding Jonny and Kate through the initial stages of development and providing advice on taking the product to market.

What’s next?

Jonny and Kate received grant finance from Business Gateway’s “Grants for Growth” scheme which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The £12,000 funding grant acted as a mechanism to pay early up-front costs and allowed the business owners to fund a comprehensive set of essential financials to present to future investors. The next phase of this ambitious business will involve fundraising for a new custom-built whisky distillery in North Uist.

Jonny continued: “We’ve taken full advantage of the free business and marketing classes that are regularly available. Contacting Business Gateway should be the first step in anyone’s journey in embarking on your first business idea.”