Distillery's £71m sale bid revealed

A £71m bid has been made to buy a Cumbrian distillery.

English sparkling wine maker Nyetimber has made the offer to buy The Lakes Distillery near Bassenthwaite.

It opened its doors in 2014 following extensive work to redevelop a disused dairy farm five miles from Keswick and turn it into a drinks manufacturing facility.

Shareholders in the award-winning company are now being recommended by the board to approve the sale.

James Pennefather, CEO of the distillery, said the company's board had a plan to achieve 1% of the global luxury market of dark spirits by 2030.

He said £10m of funding was needed in the next three years to achieve that and the £71m valuation was more than 12 times the revenue achieved by the distillery in the last financial year.

He added: "By joining the Nyetimber family of companies, The Lakes will benefit in particular in terms of quality of production, brand marketing and routes to market.

"The Lakes directors are confident that this will confer significant benefits to The Lakes’ long-term prospects, both as a brand and as a company."

Eric Heerema, CEO of Nyetimber, added: "We believe that this potential acquisition represents an opportunity for us to expand our capabilities, drive exciting new growth and support The Lakes in delivering on its ambition to be a globally recognised spirits brand.

"Not only do we have an inherent understanding and strong relationships with the world’s leading luxury restaurants, bars and retailers, but we also have a shared strategic vision."

The distillery has won multiple awards including a gold award at the 2023 International Spirits Challenge for one of its single malts and a gold award from Visit England as part of its visitor attraction accolades in 2022.

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