Cotswolds Distillery in Angels’ Share campaign

The Cotswolds Distillery is launching its first equity crowd-funding round called The Angels’ Share. The round, which aims to raise £500,000 to help fund production of the distillery’s single malt whisky, is being managed through CrowdBnk - a leading crowdfunding platform that has completed successful raises for craft brewer Innis & Gunn and English sparkling wine-maker Hambledon Vineyards among others.

The Cotswolds Distillery began production on its idyllic North Cotswolds site in September 2014 and already has an award-winning product – Cotswolds Dry Gin – now on sale nationally and in more than 10 countries. The single malt, made using local Cotswolds Barley, was recently rated as Liquid Gold - scoring 94 out of 100 points - by noted whisky writer Jim Murray in his 2016 Whisky Bible. The distillery has become a premier local attraction, offering tours and tastings daily, and has been receiving the equivalent of approximately 10,000 visitors a year. It represents an investment of £5 million, much of which was by the founder – a former hedge fund manager – and his family, backed by local investors.

Daniel Szor, founder and CEO of the Cotswolds Distillery, says: “We have come a lot further, a lot faster, than we could ever have hoped. Our natural spirits, in particular our Cotswolds Dry Gin, have been extremely well-received, our distillery and visitor centre are now among the top 20 Cotswolds attractions according to TripAdvisor and our young single malt is already getting excellent reviews – we are over the moon. We have built a wonderful community of loyal

customers and fans and our Angels’ Share round is a way of allowing them to own a piece of the distillery and become brand ambassadors while sharing in the upside of this fast-growing business. We are delighted to raise funds with CrowdBnk and their investors”

Ayan Mitra, founder and CEO of CrowdBnk added: " We are very proud to support the Cotswolds Distillery. This is a unique opportunity to invest in a revenue generating and high growth premium brand. The company is led by a very impressive management team and supported by first class angel investors."

The Angels’ Share offering, which starts with a minimum investment of £1,000, includes rewards ranging from bottles of the distillery’s inaugural 2017 release of its Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky to private distillery tours, a one day distilling class and even a barrel of whisky. The Cotswolds Distillery produces 175,000 bottles of whisky annually, as well as gin, brandy and a number of small batch liqueurs for sale in its beautiful rural distillery shop, in high street distributors and online.

For more information and to invest directly, investors should visit www.crowdbnk.com/p/cotswolds-distillery 

Further news - December 14, 2015 - The Cotswolds Distillery today announced it has reached its minimum funding target in its "Angels' Share" crowdfunding round of £500,000 in only 1 week through CrowdBnk's platform (https://www.crowdbnk.com/p/cotswolds-distillery).   The round, scheduled to continue through 4 February 2016 is now overfunding and will remain opened as the distillery is making available up to £1,000,000 in equity given the wave of investor interest.  

Daniel Szor, Founder and CEO of the Cotswolds Distillery, said "We are overjoyed by this great vote of confidence in our company, its progress so far and our ambitious plans for the future, which are behind the fantastic investor demand we've seen over the past week.  Craft spirits are an exciting and fast-growing sector, and we believe the opportunities for an appealing brand backed by a well-structured company in an ideal location are limitless.  We are happy to have been able to expand our investor base and add a legion of new brand ambassadors to our growing community".  

Ayan Mitra, founder and CEO of CrowdBnk added: "The tremendous success of the Angels' Share reflects the growing interest in both Craft Spirits and Crowdfunding, two disruptive industries.  This record raise for the platform is down to the outstanding quality of the Cotswolds Distillery's management team combined with CrowdBnk's unique approach of selecting, due diligencing and curating investment opportunities for investors."

11 December 2015 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor