A Belfast distillery has secured a £5m investment from Whiterock to expand its sales team, drive growth in new markets and establish key distribution channels.
Titanic Distillers started production of its single malt whiskey in August 2023 under the watchful eye of head distiller Damien Rafferty, to accompany its portfolio of premium blended Irish Whiskey, Pot Still Irish Whiskey and Irish Vodka distilled from sugar beet.
The £5m funding package comprises equity investment from Whiterock's Growth Capital Fund, which makes investments of between £1m and £5m for minority shareholdings in growth and scaling companies from Northern Ireland.
The company has used the new investment to hire two senior drinks industry executives. Colin Green, previously commercial director of Diageo Ireland, has joined to implement its international sales strategy, while JC Rice, former head of sales for Tennent's NI, will manage sales in Great Britain and Ireland.
Stephen Symington, chief executive at Titanic Distillers, stated: "This equity investment will help fund the next phase of growth for Titanic Distillers. Craftsmanship is at the core of Titanic Distillers. We have created a whiskey that the people of Belfast can be proud of."
Titanic Distillers is based in Thompson Dock, which first opened in 1911 to service the massive White Star transatlantic liners Olympic and Titanic. The company has invested almost £8m to convert The Pumphouse into a working distillery, said to be the first working distillery in Belfast in almost 90 years.