Whisky industry grit helps when there's nip in air If There is a smell of alcohol in the air this festive season, it might not necessarily be coming from people's breath.
Aberdeen City Council is trying out a new type of grit for the roads - which is a by-product of the whisky industry.
A council spokesman said: "It is designed to work at lower temperatures and remain on the road surface for longer in wet conditions.
"It incorporates a mulch-like substance, which does have a slight odour and which is perhaps more noticeable in higher temperatures."
The grit has already been spread in some areas, including braes in Cults and Mastrick.
The spokeswoman said: "The compound is on trial at the moment and its benefits will be assessed."
Plans to cope with the worst of the winter weather will be stepped up. This year an extra £1 million has been set aside on top of a £1.6 million gritting budget.
Spending in the past two winters, which have seen average snow falls, topped £2 million.
A major effort is being made this year to keep public transport running on time.
The council's "winter maintenance operation plan" covers roads, pavements and other pedestrian routes.
Highways are being gritted in line with their designations as priority One, Two or Three.
The first category covers principal routes, other main roads carrying heavy traffic feeding on to them, and roads giving access to emergency and "essential" public services.
Council policy states that they should never become impassable unless the weather is extraordinarily severe. Articles Courtesy of The Press & Journal
Attraction draws record attendance Dewar's World of Whisky visitor centre at Aberfeldy in Perthshire, is enjoying its busiest season since it opened in 2000.
There have been more than 36,000 visitors in the eight months since this season began in April. By the time the 12-month season is up, the tally will be well ahead of last year's previous record of 35,190 people.
While many Americans have been more reluctant to travel after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the centre has seen US visitors increase by 2.5%, accounting for 7.4% of the total. The US is Dewar's core market, where Dewar's White Label is said to be the number one Scotch.
Centre manager Jane Grimley said: "The domestic market still contributes to almost 50% of Dewar's World of Whisky's business, but many European markets are fast emerging as whisky lovers too.
"This is reflected in Dewar's World of Whisky's visitor statistics with our German, Dutch and Swedish neighbours recorded as the most frequent foreign visitors."
The attraction has also enjoyed a small but significant increase in Russian visitors; the majority of whom are connoisseurs who have also proven to be some of the highest spenders in its brand store. Articles Courtesy of The Press & Journal
Distiller toasts exports lift The world's continuing love affair with whisky has helped to boost turnover and profits at one of Scotland's few remaining family-owned distillers and bottlers.
Speymalt Whisky Distributors, which trades as Elgin-based Gordon and MacPhail, saw turnover grow £768,393 to £13.714million with pre-tax profits ahead by some £88,669 at £534,135 in the year to February 29.
Managing director Ian Urquhart said the increased global interest in both single malts and blended Scotch lay behind the improved trading figures.
Gordon and MacPhail exports to 35 countries, but the biggest sales improvement has been seen in Europe, particularly among the 10 accession states, the United States, Canada and the Far East.
Exports stood at £2.186million, against £1.885million. The domestic market accounts for the largest part of the firm's business at £11.528million, up £468,000 on the year.
But Mr Urquhart sounded a caution, saying the strength of the pound against both the US dollar and the euro would make life more difficult when it came to selling Scotch abroad.
Gordon and MacPhail markets about 360 whisky expressions of its own in addition to some 80 single malts.
Mr Urquhart said: "Sales of our own bottlings of whisky have been the main drivers in growth. We have increased marketing activity and continued to improve our customer service."
2004 has been a successful year for the firm, which has relaunched the entire range from Benromach, the distillery it reopened at Forres six years ago.
The Urquhart family were presented with a lifetime achievement by Malt Advocate, America's leading whisky publication last month, while Gordon and MacPhail has also refurbished and doubled the size of its shop in Elgin, adding a whisky room.
The shop sells over 800 whiskies, while the firm's warehouses hold casks from more than 80 distilleries.
Mr Urquhart said while the focus for the whisky industry continued to be on growing sales of single malts and special bottlings, there were several markets where blends were reporting increased demand.
He said: "Some markets are showing interest in blends and that is encouraging. Many markets have been quite flat so this is really good news for the industry."
Gordon and MacPhail, which employs 120 staff, was founded in 1895. Mr Urquhart's grandfather, John, joined as an apprentice soon after the business was set up
When Mr Gordon and Mr MacPhail retired he took over the business, which has remained in the Urquhart family's ownership since then.
Mr Urquhart's two brothers, David and Michael, are executive directors, while his sister, Rosemary Rankin is a non-executive.
Mr Urquhart's son, Neil, 29, is involved in the firm as is Mrs Rankin's son, Stephen, 33, and David's son, Richard, 22.
The directors saw dividend payments in the last financial year increase from 6p to 32p a share, allowing them to share £60,800. The highest paid director, who was not named, saw their total package fall from £146,432 in 2003 to £135,473.
Speyside Whisky remains in dispute with the Contributions Agency over the payment of national insurance contributions.
The firm's accounts, released by Companies House yesterday, showed that £120,000 was outstanding, but the directors do not believe it is payable. Articles Courtesy of The Press & Journal
Distillery? Dram good idea! IF you’re going to buy a distillery, and if you can raise £10 million in a bit of a hurry, you’re as well buying one in the Highlands, source of the world’s mightiest malts.
And you’re as well buying one with form. The Tullibardine distillery in the Perthshire village of Blackford, virtually next door to Gleneagles Hotel, dates back to 1488 when King James IV bought beer from the brewery that stood on this site to celebrate his coronation at Scone, near Perth.
Panic ye not! This is no history lesson, it’s a tale of two likely Lowland lads, both richly experienced in the drinks trade, who had this big, brave (some said ridiculous) idea of buying a distillery and saw it come to fruition in somewhat bizarre circumstances.
Mike Beamish, 47, and Doug Ross, 41, were lunching at the Royal Burgess golf club in Edinburgh when the mobile call came from their lawyers confirming they had actually clinched the £10m deal.
Shropshire-born and bred, Mr Beamish is of highly appropriate stock. His forebears are the Beamish family who began brewing their famous stout in the 1700s.
Direct from a business degree at Edinburgh University, Mr Beamish joined chartered accountants Ernst & Young in Melville Street in 1978. After 18 months of rather intense accountancy, he jumped at the chance to cultivate his alcoholic roots with a job at the Distillers Company in sales and marketing.
"Invaluable experience for me," he recalls, "because for the first six months they put me into production, sampling the practical side of things."
He moved to the Drambuie Liqueur Company in 1995 at its Kirkliston headquarters near Edinburgh as sales and marketing director. "It was pretty well the perfect time to join the hallowed company because while I was there, until 2002, Drambuie were regenerating themselves. They had created a new team with brothers Calum and Duncan MacKinnon at the helm."
After 2002, Mr Beamish and Mr Ross had their sights firmly set on Tullibardine.
Mr Ross grew up in Lundin Links, Fife, schooled in Edinburgh at Stewart’s Melville, then went on to Heriot-Watt University for a business studies degree.
"That took me to 1988 and my first job, with United Distillers in London," says Mr Ross. "I left London in 1991 and stayed on with UD in Edinburgh till 1995.
"Subsequently I was self-employed in Edinburgh for eight years, specialising in consultancy, married with one child and living in Barnton. Which brings me up to summer last year and a whole new perspective on life and work when Mike and I clinched the distillery.
"Describing how and where Mike and I first met, while it proved most fortuitous in time, must seem mundane - a pub. You might ask ‘where else?’ considering what we are immersed in now.
"I was working for six months as a barman while studying at Heriot-Watt, the part-time job to help me through college, so to speak.
"Mind you, it was no ordinary pub. I’d managed to don the barman’s apron in The Tilted Wig, in the New Town’s Cumberland Street. It had style, it was patronised by a better-class clientele and it was owned by the personable, no-messing publican in Paddy Crossan.
"Now retired, Mr Crossan, who, with his mother, had run one of Rose Street’s legendary watering holes, Paddy’s Bar, was widely respected in the trade. Six months working for him was like taking evening classes.
"That’s where I first met Mike. He was a customer at the Wig."
Mr Ross first registered an interest in Tullibardine in the summer of 1999. With its plentiful supply of crystal-pure water flowing from the Ochil Hills, the brewery was still producing beer long after James IV succumbed at Flodden in 1513.
But by the early 1900s the brewery had fallen on hard times. It survived in various guises until 1947 when a Welshman bought it, intent on conversion to a distillery. Two years later Tullibardine distillery produced spirit for the first time.
Unfortunately it was eventually mothballed and from 1994 lay dormant until June last year when, along with its existing stock of whisky, it was purchased by the current consortium. Last December, spirit flowed from the stills for the first time in nine years.
Directors Mr Beamish and Mr Ross share the boardroom with non-executive chairman Alan Williamson, 60, and financial director Alastair Russell, 42.
Mr Ross explains: "When we say the project overall has been complex and far from easy we’re probably grossly understating things. Once we’d done our feasibility study we talked to Whyte & Mackay, then owners of Tullibardine, and the deal was done.
"This is a £10m development on what became a six-acre site once we’d leased ground from neighbouring Highland Spring. In reality, Mike and I were wearing two hats; we had two business plans operating simultaneously.
"We had plans drawn up for retail development and sold those to Kenmore, an Edinburgh property company. Bank of Scotland are also involved.
"The 55,000 square feet acquired by Kenmore includes 28,000 taken up by Baxters and 8000 we’ll lease for our own retail outlets. Tiso, the Edinburgh-based mountaineering and camping people, have snapped up 5000sq ft."
Adds Mr Beamish, married with two children and living down the road in Glenfarg: "Our game plan, if you like, will see business from the retail side feeding cash into the distillery. Also, we have built a visitor centre - with distillery tours - that includes a retail shop and restaurant.
"We’re calling the centre 1488, and inevitably when visitors ask us why we’ll tell them we owe it all to good King James. There’s a whole lot of history wrapped round this location."
What, hopefully, will intoxicate folk who frequent the visitor centre is Tullibardine’s and the village’s past. The name Blackford, for example, was established in the tenth century when, the story goes, the wife of the Nordic King Magnus fell off her horse and drowned while crossing a ford in the area.
The tragedy was said to have deeply affected the king, and the village thereafter was known as "black ford".
Distillery records confirm that its original capacity was 35,000 proof gallons annually by 1953.
Capacity increased subsequently through various measures, each change based on efficiency measures set by Delme Evans, the Welsh purchaser in 1947.
Invergordon Distillers took Tullibardine under its wing in 1971 and, two years later, capacity was boosted again through repositioning of the existing stills and duplicating the original pair.
At peak production the distillery employed 15 men.
In 1994, the then owner Whyte & Mackay merged Tullibardine with various others due to an excess of distillation capacity within the company.
Gradually, Tullibardine was to lose what remained of its individuality - and its hallowed history. It lay deserted and looking rather sorry for itself until last summer and the current consortium’s takeover.
Since reopening, distillation levels have been reduced markedly to ensure that only enough spirit is produced to satisfy realistic future demand - and to safeguard a working distillery open year round to the public.
Complex finish . . don't mention the lawyers
DOUG ROSS, while supervising the supply of spirits for United Distillers in Edinburgh, chaired the Scotch Whisky Association committee responsible for the integration and implementation of bar code and auto ID technology for cask warehousing.
Mike Beamish has spent his career in the drinks industry since graduating from Edinburgh University. In 15 years with United Distillers he sold and marketed their brands worldwide.
The men’s feasibility study for Tullibardine spanned three years, a preoccupation that saw them working on the project full-time throughout the third year.
"It’s as well we were confident everything would come good eventually and that we slogged on regardless. Sweating over traffic impact analysis, retail analysis, borehole analysis, not to mention environmental impact assessment... it all threatened to engulf us," they reflect.
"We dealt with 16 firms of lawyers during the entire process, all of them Edinburgh firms except one. Please, don’t talk to us about lawyers!"
Mr Beamish and Mr Ross claim that they have "the best site in Scotland". They reckon that 2.8 million prospective Central Belt customers live within an hour’s drive of the born-again distillery.
"We are barely an hour’s drive up the road from Edinburgh but it’s already a home-from-home for us," they chorus.
Mr Ross: "It’s comforting to know that Peter Lederer, chairman of VisitScotland as well as managing director Gleneagles, is virtually our next-door neighbour. If we ever run short of milk or sugar we can always nip over to the hotel. Similarly, if Peter should ever run short of a dram..." Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Honour for an expert with a nose for a dram A Moray whisky expert has become the first from a distilling background to earn one of the highest honours in the food and drink industry.
David Stewart, the Glenfiddich Distillery malt master, has been awarded the prestigious Grand Prix of Gastronomy by the British Academy of Gastronomes.
Mr Stewart, who is the longest serving malt master in the whisky business having worked for Dufftown-based William Grant and Sons for 42 years, received the award for his outstanding contribution to the development and quality of single malt and blended Scotch whisky. It is the first time that the academy has awarded the Grand Prix to someone from the whisky industry.
Academy chairman Peter Bazalgette described Mr Stewart as one of the world's leading master blenders. He said: "His long career and involvement in the development of the Glenfiddich and The Balvenie ranges of single malts, and his extensive experience and expertise in nosing and blending the Grant's range of blended Scotch whiskies, make him a great choice for this year's Grand Prix."
Following a 12-year apprenticeship with William Grant and Sons, Mr Stewart was appointed master blender in 1974, a position he has held ever since.
During his 42 years with the company, Mr Stewart has developed an award-winning range of single malts and blends which have earned him some of the industry's top accolades.
The British Academy of Gastronomes was founded by Egon Ronay in 1983, who remains its president. It has about 60 members, including MPs, peers, captains of industry as well as food and drink writers. Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Chinese sales of Scotch whisky soar 170% FIGURES released yesterday show that China is developing a taste for Scotch whisky.
Export figures from the Scotch Whisky Association reveal that in the first half of this year more Scotch was exported to China than in the whole of 2003, with export value growing more than 170 per cent to £9.7 million.
The trend far outstrips the growth of the value of Scotch whisky exports in total, which rose 2 per cent, or £20m, to £982m from £962.3m in the first six months of 2004.
Sales also grew in other emerging export markets, such as Brazil, up 44 per cent to £11.6m, and India, up 15 per cent to £6.2m.
Ian Good, the chairman of the SWA, said: "In the first half, we have seen a number of encouraging trends, with growth in established markets such as France and Spain complemented by rising exports to potentially important markets of the future such as China, Brazil and Russia."
The rise of bottled malt whisky exports also continued, with an additional £22m worth of malt whisky already sold compared with the first half of last year, an increase of 18 per cent to £144m.
Exports to the European Union also rose, by £40m to £415.5m, largely due to increasing shipments of both bottled malt and blended whisky to major markets such as France, Spain and Greece.
The United States continued to be the largest market for Scotch whisky, with the value of exports rising by 2 per cent overall to £142m. This was mainly as a result of increased demand for bottled malt products.
Total sales amounted to £2.37 billion in 2003. More whisky is sold in the second half of the year and the industry expects the total 2004 figure to exceed last year. Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Distillery staff toast £1.5 million HUNDREDS of whisky workers in West Lothian are set to share in a £1.5 million cash windfall by Christmas.
Staff at whisky distillers Glenmorangie are set to pick up an average of £4000 each as part of a takeover deal for the company.
The 300-year-old firm, which has nearly 400 staff at its headquarters in Broxburn and three distilleries, is due to be taken over by Moet Hennessy, the drinks arm of the luxury goods giant LVMH.
Most of the Glenmorangie employees are shareholders in what is Scotland’s last remaining independently quoted whisky firm.
The announcement of a £300m recommended offer from LVMH means an average pay-out of £4000 each when the deal goes through.
The new owners have already promised jobs at Broxburn and Glenmorangie’s other bases are safe.
The takeover will also result in a £40m windfall for charities. Part of the proceeds from shares held by the Macdonald family, the majority owners, will go into a trust which supports a number of good causes, including Capability Scotland, the Royal National Lifeboat Institute, the Royal Blind Asylum and the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
French owner to end deals on cut-price Glenmorangie LUXURY goods maker Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy plans to ditch Glenmorangie’s practice of selling whisky at knock-down prices once its £300m acquisition of the distiller is complete.
LVMH won the race to buy Scotland’s last quoted whisky distiller last week following a battle with rivals from the US, France and Scotland.
The French group, led by president Christophe Navarre, wants to distance the upmarket Glenmorangie brand from the bulk own-label whisky business which provides much of the company’s turnover.
A spokesman for LVMH said: "One of the criticisms levelled at Glenmorangie was the level of its bulk sales. We achieve premium prices for our products. We intend to sell more of the real stuff."
According to one analyst, reducing its output of cheap whisky could prompt Glenmorangie to leave its huge bottling and blending plant near Broxburn for smaller premises.
Alternatively, LVMH could use the plant to bottle drinks such as Hennessy cognac.
Alan Gray, a whisky analyst at Sutherlands, the broker, said: "The problem Glenmorangie had was that when they moved to Broxburn, they moved to a plant which was too big for their requirements.
"Since then, they have been trying to do as much as possible to fill the plant."
He added: "LVMH are at the top end of the market. They may say, ‘OK, we will keep that’, or they may say that they do not want to be associated with it.
"If they have some products of their own, they may have them bottled at Glenmorangie. If they can’t do that they will have too big a plant, so they could move to other premises."
LVMH is understood to have offered the Macdonald family, which holds a controlling interest in Glenmorangie, a reassurance on jobs.
Some observers were surprised LVMH offered as much as £300m for Glenmorangie. One industry source said: "The ones you would have expected to have won, such as Bacardi, got nowhere near that price.
"It makes you wonder how they will extract value. But this should be good for the whole industry - LVMH believes whisky should be seen as a premium product." Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Whisky firm drinks to the £300m sale of a dynasty ONE of the last remaining Scotch whisky dynasties came to an end last night as the Macdonalds of Tain sold the family firm, pocketing more than £100 million.
This morning when workers report for duty at Glenmorangie’s Morangie Burn distillery on the Dornoch Firth at Tain, Ross-shire, they will, for the first time in 86 years, be reporting to new management team.
Gone are the Macdonalds, headed by the 71-year-old family patriarch David Macdonald; the workers’ fate is now in the hands of a French luxury-goods firm.
The premium malt whisky maker employs 400 people at its head office and warehouse site in Broxburn, West Lothian, and at its Tain distillery.
Despite a stock market flotation, tie-ups with internationally recognised companies and the appointment of high-flying chief executive Paul Neep, the Macdonalds had managed to keep control with a majority shareholding.
The shares are believed to be distributed among 15 members of the family with David Macdonald alone owning almost one million shares. He has four daughters: Fiona, Alison, Tara and Vaila.
Last night a spokesman for Glenmorangie said the Macdonalds received 35 per cent of the final £300 million selling price which gives them a windfall of £105 million, catapulting them into the band of Scotland’s richest families.
Paris-based Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy says it will continue to develop and grow the premium brands in their key markets.
More importantly, it has also guaranteed the security of all the jobs, something Mr Macdonald is believed to have personally stipulated.
Christophe Navarre, chief executive of Moët Hennessy welcomed the deal.
"Glenmorangie is a fine whisky, a growing brand and a strong company," he said.
"It will be a fitting companion for Moët & Chandon, Hennessy and our other prestige brands. We look forward to a prosperous future together."
LVMH confirmed it would formally write to all shareholders outlining its offer.
It’s all a long way from the wine-and-spirits merchants Roderick Macdonald - the grandfather of former chairman David - set up with Alexander Muir in 1918.
Through good management it has grown into a business with a turnover of £68.8 million.
With the help of its portfolio of brands - Glenmorangie, Ardbeg, Glen Moray and a sizeable own-label bottling business - the firm has delighted the stock market. Its share price has risen steadily during the last four years, pushing the value of the company towards the £230 million mark.
It now sells 1.6 million cases of whisky a year, and as well as having Scotland’s biggest-selling malt it also owns the fast-growing Ardbeg brand, which has seen overall turnover grow by 6 per cent to £68.8 million. Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Allied raises glass to 6% profit rise ALLIED Domeq, the world’s second-biggest spirits maker, today toasted an "excellent year" with news of a six per cent rise in annual profit.
And there was confidence that even though some markets remain tough, the business would continue to grow in the current year.
Bristol-based Allied, whose portfolio of drinks brands includes Ballantine’s whisky, Beefeater Gin and Courvoisier cognac, said pre-tax profit was £521 million for the year ending August 31 on sales down slightly at £3.23 billion, mainly on foreign currency movements. That compared to a profit of £491m the year previously on sales of £3.4bn. Analysts had forecast pre-tax profit of between £518m-£525m. Its Quick Service Restaurants operations, which include Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, had a strong year with profits up 21 per cent to £86m "driven by continued growth in same store sales".
The group said volumes of core spirits were up eight per cent, while profits from its premium wines rose 13 per cent.
Allied said the profit boost was helped by strong sales of its core brands, particularly in the United States where spirits are growing in favour, and the expansion of Dunkin’ Donuts.
"Our core brands performed well in the United States, delivering overall market share gains," said chief executive Philip Bowman.
"Overall these good performances have more than offset the trading challenges we faced in markets such as South Korea, France and Germany."
In particular, Allied delivered strong sales of wines, which include Mumm, Cuvee and Campo Viejo.
"We had a very strong year in the US, our largest wine market, with overall volumes up 14 per cent and net turnover up 17 per cent. Our largest US brand, Clos du Bois, was the key driver with volumes up 13 per cent, Mr Bowman said.
Britons were also drinking more wine, with volumes up by seven per cent over the year.
At constant exchange rates, Allied’s spirits and wine sales grew by five per cent, or £105m. However, its Quick Service Restaurants turnover slipped by £7m, reflecting the final transition of Baskin-Robbins from producing and selling ice cream to US franchisees to a wholly royalty-based model.
Overall trading profit in Europe was up 14 per cent to £139m reflecting a recovery in volumes in Spain and a good performance in the UK and central and eastern Europe, offset by declines in other western European markets caused by the challenging trading conditions.
Mr Bowman said the group’s UK business had "continued to deliver profit growth", with Courvoisier extending its leadership of the cognac category with both volumes and net turnover up nine per cent, and Malibu also doing well.
Looking ahead, Mr Bowman said he anticipated "continued momentum of the core brands". Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Houses galore in whisky site plans HUNDREDS of affordable homes are planned for the site of a doomed whisky plant in Leith.
Developer Teague Homes has snapped up Whyte and Mackay’s bottling factory and plans to replace the building with a £110 million development.
The firm hopes to construct up to 500 homes at the Salamander Place site, which is expected to be vacated by the firm in September 2006. Under city council guidelines at least a quarter of the one-bedroom units are expected to be offered for sale at no more than £57,900.
Whyte and Mackay announced last year that the Leith plant, where around 220 staff are employed, is to close as part of a major restructuring operation that will see the firm relocate to a new £20m bottling plant in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire.
Teague Homes, which was behind the Britannia Quay development of 330 apartments next to Ocean Terminal, has purchased the site for an undisclosed sum and is renting it back to Whyte and Mackay until the factory closes down.
Seamus Teague, the firm’s managing director, today said: "We’re hoping to create a development of low-cost housing aimed specifically at first-time buyers.
"There will be a mixture of one, two and three-bedroom flats on the site, as well as around 800,000 square feet of business units. We hope to have planning permission in place to allow us to start work as soon as Whyte and Mackay vacate the site.
"We think it’ll be a really attractive location because of its close proximity to Leith Links and it’s obviously in an area where there is great deal of development happening."
Up to a dozen business units of around 70,000sq ft each are earmarked for the land off Salamander Place that was subject to the lucrative deal.
Whyte and Mackay sparked anger when it announced plans to close the Leith plant and redevelop its current site in Grangemouth.
A spokesman for the company said consultation was still ongoing with the workforce in Leith to determine the number of staff that would be transferred to the new site. The number of staff working in Grangemouth is to increase from 140 to 220 by the time the new plant opens.
Whyte and Mackay’s plant is close to where around £32m worth of development is taking place on the site of the former William Muir whisky bond and warehouse on Salamander Street.
Strathclyde Homes is spending £23m creating 150 apartments and penthouses on a gap site.
And a consortium of Home in Scotland and Rutland Residential Limited is behind plans to convert the former warehouse into 88 flats for either rented or low-cost housing.
Under the city council’s affordable housing policy, at least 25 per cent of the properties on a development of 500 homes have to be either available for discounted sale or rent. The criterion for discounted sale is that a one-bedroom flat should be offered for sale at no more than £57,900.
A spokeswoman for the city council said: "We welcome developers taking a proactive approach to affordable housing and we look forward to working with Teague."
Whyte and Mackay was one of the high-profile critics to condemn the city council’s plans to create a giant waste plant off Salamander Street.
Campaigners against the scheme celebrated last week when council chiefs pulled the plug on the project, later admitting they had botched the handling of the planning application by failing to consult the local community fully. Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Jobs pledge as LVMH targets Glenmorangie LUXURY goods giant LVMH may seize Glenmorangie from under the noses of Pernod Ricard and Bacardi after pledging to avoid cutting jobs at a Scottish bottling plant.
Final bids for the prestige Scotch malt whisky company were tabled on Thursday night and are believed to have ranged between £285m and £300m. A winner is expected to be unveiled this week.
The shortlist is believed to have dropped to four - Pernod Ricard, Bacardi, Brown-Forman and LVMH. Pernod Ricard is being tipped as favourite as it has the firepower to outgun the rest of the bidders.
But sources close to the bidding believe the Macdonald family, which has put the business up for sale, would accept a lower bid in exchange for promises from LVMH about the future of the 250-strong workforce at its Broxburn bottling plant in West Lothian.
One source close to the auction said: "The bids are very complicated and it’s not all about the headline price. Everyone is very keen to preserve jobs where possible - particularly the Macdonalds. The objectives are firstly to maximise value, then secondly to preserve jobs. If there were two bids at the same price but one was better for jobs, the second would win through."
Another insider close to the deal said: "LVMH doesn’t have any other whisky brands or any other bottling operations in the UK so they would have to take on the Broxburn plant. Bacardi and Pernod would both be looking for synergies with their existing plants. Although Brown-Forman are still on the list, they’re not expected to be willing to bid as high anyway."
Bacardi has a whisky portfolio which includes Dewars, Lawsons and the Glen Deveron single malt. But it would be expected to transfer bottling to its plant in Southampton if it won the auction.
Pernod Ricard already owns Glenlivet, the number two Scotch whisky in the UK market behind Glenmorangie, which could raise a competition commission inquiry and delay any bid being processed.
Pernod would also close the Broxburn plant to integrate it with its existing Chivas Brothers bottling operations in Glasgow and Speyside, according to industry sources.
LVMH has no other whiskies in its portfolio and would turn Glenmorangie into a luxury brand if it won the auction. Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Distillers create new woodlands and improve whisky water ONE of the world’s leading drinks companies yesterday joined forces with Scottish Native Woods to announce a major environmental project in the heart of the North-east of Scotland’s whisky country.
Diageo, which owns ten distilleries in Speyside, is to invest £100,000 over the next three years to help establish a network of native woodlands in the catchments of four of the main rivers in Moray and Aberdeenshire in a scheme which will improve the quality of the water in the river systems and ultimately help boost fish stocks in the area.
The project, "Living Rivers", will lead to the restoration and expansion of more than 1,000 acres of riparian woodlands within the catchments of the rivers Spey, Deveron, Dee and Lossie, with the planting of the native Caledonian pinewood, birchwood, upland ash, elm and wet alder which once covered 80 per cent of the landscape.
The pioneering project was officially launched by broadcaster Muriel Gray, the patron of Scottish Native Woods, at Diageo’s Glendullan Distillery at Dufftown.
She said: "I have a love of Scotland's trees and woods and welcome the Living Rivers Project - a partnership with the aims of increasing awareness and management of the range of native wood types in the North-east."
A spokeswoman for the woodlands charity said: "The management and restoration of those areas can contribute to the productivity of our fresh water environment. And the management of these riparian woodlands will have a benefit for both local fisheries and the communities that rely on that economic activity."
Brian Higgs, the malt distilling director for Diageo, said the drinks giant placed a huge importance on the local environment of its operations, investing £20 million worldwide each year on local community projects.
He said: "Here in malt whisky country one of our most important raw materials is water and we are very heavily dependent on a good, healthy, clean supply at all times.
"At least ten of Diageo’s sites are situated within the catchment areas of the rivers and waterways covered by this project. Healthy riparian woodlands means a healthy water supply, as far as we’re concerned, and we’re delighted to be able to support this project." Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Bowmore serves up double loss Annual losses doubled at whisky distiller Morrison Bowmore last year, according to accounts released yesterday.
But sales are now ahead 27% on last year after its decision to focus on single malts.
Morrison Bowmore operates distilleries at Bowmore on Islay, Auchentoshan near Glasgow, and Glen Garioch at Oldmeldrum.
Figures released by Companies House showed pre-tax losses for the year to December 31 of £2.25million, against £1.069million. Turnover was, however, up almost £900,000 at £33.416million.
Higher costs and shared losses from joint ventures contributed to the larger losses.
Morrison Bowmore, founded in 1951, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japanese drinks giant Suntory.
The Scots company is a regular winner of awards for the quality of its malts and a former Distiller of the Year.
Just two months ago Bowmore Distillery was recognised by the European Commission as one of the most environmentally-friendly businesses in Europe.
The group employed 206 people last year, compared with 226 in 2002, while the top-earning director was paid £231,604 in the latest period, against £243,183 last time.
The group is led by chief executive Mike Keiller who was unavailable for comment about the accounts yesterday.
A spokeswoman said: "We are extremely confident about the way things are going." Articles Courtesy of The Press & Journal
Six suitors to get shot at distiller MALT whisky distiller Glenmorangie has whittled down the potential bidders for the West Lothian-based business to a shortlist of six.
Bacardi-Martini, Brown Forman, Pernod Ricard, Edrington, LVMH and William Grant are all reported to have made it to the next round, which gives them access to the group’s financial information.
The 300-year-old company, which employs almost 400 staff at its headquarters in Broxburn and its distillery in Tain, Ross-shire, opened talks with potential bidders after it was put up for sale last month.
The decision was made by the founding Macdonald family, which owns more than 50 per cent of shares in the business spread across around 15 family members.
The shortlist has been drawn up from more than a dozen companies that expressed an interest. The Glenmorangie board is expected to name a preferred bidder by mid-October, with the business estimated to be worth at least £300 million. The sale is expected to net the MacDonald family about £100m.
All the potential bidders already own whisky brands except luxury goods group LVMH which owns Moët & Chandon champagne and Hennessy cognac alongside fashion labels Luis Vuitton and Christian Dior.
Earlier this year Glenmorangie revealed that sales of its three premium malts were growing at more than twice the pace of the wider whisky market, boosting profits by ten per cent in the full year. Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Distilling Giant's Boss gets package worth over £3.6M The boss of Scotland's largest whisky distiller received £3.635million in the year to June 30.
The package given to chief executive Paul Walsh was revealed as the world's number one premium drinks company published its annual report. His pay and benefits increased by £250,000 despite Diageo posting reduced profits for the year - pre-tax profits before one-off costs of £2.07billion against £2.19billion the year before.
Mr Walsh, 49, received £823,000 in basic salary, plus £1.314million in annual performance payouts. He also gained other benefits worth £42,000. These included company cars, private use of a chauffeur, fuel, product allowance, financial counselling, spouse travel, medical insurance and life insurance premiums.
In addition to emoluments Mr Walsh received payments and made gains under long-term incentive plans of £1.456million during the year - down from £1.683million in 2003.
At the year-end he held some 3,523,814 shares and options, which at last night's close were potentially worth more than £24.1million. Mr Walsh would, however, have to pay for his shares under option before being able to cash them in.
The annual report also showed that Diageo's 11-strong board of directors - all but two of whom are non-executives - received total remuneration for the year of £4.334million, up £447,000 on last year.
Diageo's brands include Johnnie Walker whisky, Smirnoff vodka, Captain Morgan's rum, Gordon's gin, and Guinness. Among its other brands are Bailey's Irish cream, J &B whisky, Cuervo tequila, Tanqueray gin, and Bell's, Lagavulin, Cragganmore, Dalwhinnie and Talisker whisky. The group also owns the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire. Articles Courtesy of The Press & Journal
Bacardi favourite as bidding opens for Glenmorangie SPECULATION is mounting over who will end up with the MacDonald family’s coveted 52 per cent stake in whisky-maker Glenmorangie, with Bacardi-Martini the latest favourite to emerge.
Analysts are tipping Bacardi, which distributes Glenmorangie in the UK and Europe, to take the family’s stake, estimated to fetch up to £300 million, while Brown-Forman, owner of the Jack Daniels brand and a 10 per cent shareholder in Glenmorangie, remains another strong contender.
Glenmorangie plc, which owns the Glenmorangie, Ardbeg and Glen Moray malts, is expected to draw up a final shortlist by October to present to the MacDonald family, who put the distiller up for sale last month, and completion of the deal is tentatively set for November.
With the likely bidders reportedly narrowed down to three or four out of an initial seven, Louis Vuitton, Moet, Hennessy (LVHM) and Pernod Ricard, owner of Glenlivet, are also expected to be in the running.
Paris-based LVHM, the luxury-brands owner, is expected to put in a strong bid. "We are aware of the sale and their strong position in the market," said Christophe Navarre, head of its wine and spirits division, last week. Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Huntly group strikes gold with special malts Two whisky connoisseurs were yesterday celebrating a win at the Eurowhisky Awards in Switzerland.
Euan Shand and Alan Gordon took two Golden Thistles at the competition in Crans Montana for rare single malts produced by their independent bottling firm, Duncan Taylor & Co.
Judges were impressed with the Duncan Taylor Strathisla 35-year-old and the Duncan Taylor rare old Linlithgow 1982 cask strength malt.
Mr Shand said it was a coup for the small operation which he and Mr Gordon took over three years ago.
He added: "We've just got 15 staff and a bottling plant in Huntly, but we are now exporting to 28 countries. The United States and Japan are our biggest markets, but we are also moving forward in Europe and these awards will help us to do more.
"We export to Germany, France, Switzerland, Australia, Sweden, Denmark and Spain."
The businessmen bought the firm in 2002. It had been owned previously by American businessman Abe Rosenberg, who grew J &B whisky sales in the States from 25,000 cases to 3.5million.
Mr Rosenberg had a passion for whisky and bought many casks of new fillings from distilleries throughout Scotland.
When he died in 1994, aged 85, he had nearly 4,000 casks, ranging in age from 21 to 40-year-olds, in bond.
Duncan Taylor was placed under the management of a charitable trust for eight years before being sold to Mr Shand and Mr Gordon in a multimillion-pound deal backed by Bank of Scotland.
Mr Shand said: "We have a collection that includes some of the rarest casks of Scotch whisky. They include Bowmore and Macallan from the 1960s to name but two."
The pair have already received awards for the whisky from the Grampian Food Awards, as well as an export partnership award for exporting innovation. It is the second year of the Eurowhisky Awards, which attracted entries from most of Scotland's distillers. Articles Courtesy of The Press & Journal
Whisky in the pink PINK whisky - or Blush Scotch, if you prefer - is the latest in brand marketing for the Water of Life that will leave traditionalists, well, bright red.
A new whisky label, coyly named "Flirtation", will make its debut next week. For the modernists, it is a natural progression. The Scotch whisky industry has been battling to break free from the heather-and-golf-clubhouse image for years to reach out to a new generation of consumers. This is a brave journey that has led to the promotion of whisky as a "mixer" drink. Now comes pink whisky. Well, if you can have pink gin, why not Blush Scotch?
"Flirtation" is designed to appeal to the female market and a new generation of drinkers as far removed from the traditional tweed-clad club golfer as can be imagined.
It has been developed by the small Islay distillery Bruichladdich. The 20-year-old whisky developed its pink hue "accidently" after it was aged for five weeks in red-wine casks from the south of France. Wine merchant Mark Reynier, who owns the distillery, describes it as "pretty funky" (that’s for sure) but insists: "I cannot underestimate the seriousness of this whisky." Customers will have little option but to agree, as it comes at £65 a bottle. Priced thus, it cannot fail to bring out tipplers in a matching shade of pink. Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Diageo hit as profits and outlook lack spirit DIAGEO, the world’s biggest spirits group, yesterday reported slightly reduced annual underlying pre-tax profits - and saw its shares hit as it warned of tough trading in Britain, Ireland and mainland Europe.
Unveiling a pre-tax profit before exceptionals of £2.07 billion (£2.12bn), the company also stonewalled questions on whether it would be interested in picking up the Glenmorangie whisky company following the controlling family’s decision to sell up.
Paul Walsh, Diageo’s chief executive, also announcing an 8 per cent increase in the final dividend to 17p, said: "I would never comment on acquisitions."
Nick Rose, the group’s finance director, hinted at possible interest in the famous Scottish company, however.
"We’ve never ruled out the possibility of making acquisitions and if a small, interesting opportunity came along at the right price then we would look at it."
Diageo said the introduction of a smoking ban in Ireland and a tax on alcopops in Germany weakened demand for many of its brands, which include Guinness and Smirnoff vodka.
Of the smoking ban, Walsh said: "It’s very early days, but the indications are not good. We are watching this situation very carefully."
He said the Irish economy had been contracting for a few years, and tourism had been hit following the US terrorist attacks of September 2001.
At the same time, UK consumers were opting to drink at home rather than in pubs and this had driven down net sales of Smirnoff Ice by 17 per cent.
But the group said continued growth in North America, where four of its six spirits groups increased market share, and large markets such as Africa, meant it was able to improve its overall trading performance.
Adverse exchange-rate movements - primarily the weakness of the US dollar - reduced profits by £97 million.
Diageo’s operating profits before exceptionals eased back to £1.91bn (£1.95bn) following the completion of the sale of the company’s food operations, Pillsbury and Burger King.
The figure included £50m of restructuring costs after the group outsourced IT operations to IBM, tackled difficulties in its Irish business and moved its Park Royal Guinness production operation in London to Dublin.
Diageo’s shares closed down 8p at 675.5p after Walsh said he did "not see any change in the trading environment that we face. Europe remains our key business challenge and North America continues to provide our biggest opportunity".
Diageo trades in 180 countries and makes brands including Smirnoff, Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Baileys, J&B, Cuervo, Captain Morgan, Tanqueray, and Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines.
In the UK, where Diageo employs 5,000 of its 24,000 staff, turnover rose 2 per cent to £1.41bn on higher sales of Gordon’s gin, Blossom Hill wine and Smirnoff Red.
But profitability suffered as younger people increasingly opt to drink at home.
The group’s underlying sales rose 6 per cent. Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Glenmorangie suitors line up A PREFERRED bidder for a 52 per cent stake in premier Scots distiller Glenmorangie could be chosen within weeks, as the company nears the conclusion of the first phase.
Serious bidders will be granted access to a data room next month and NM Rothschild, appointed to handle the sale, has furnished the distiller with a list of interested parties.
Speculation surrounding the likely bidders for the stake, owned by the MacDonald family, has focused on Brown Forman, the 10 per cent shareholder which distributes Glenmorangie in the US, and Bacardi-Martini, responsible for the brand’s UK and European sales.
The maker of Glenmorangie, Glen Moray and Ardbeg is one of the largest remaining independent companies in the Scotch whisky industry and has been valued by City analysts at up to £300 million. Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Brown-Forman to make first move in £300m Glenmorangie bid battle BROWN-FORMAN, the drinks group behind Jack Daniel’s, will launch a formal bid for Glenmorangie, the Scotch whisky producer which was put up for sale last week.
US-based Brown-Forman refused to say anything about Glenmorangie in public but has let its industry contacts know that it will bid for the Scottish company, which was valued at just under £250m at Friday’s close.
Brown-Forman already distributes Glenmorangie’s products in the US and continental Europe and hold 9.6% of the voting rights in the company. It does not have a Scotch whisky brand of its own.
One senior industry figure said Brown-Forman would be a front runner from the start: "They already own nearly 10% of the company, so they can effectively afford to bid 10% more than anyone else for the same amount of money. It will be hard for anyone else to overcome that."
Brown-Forman is expected to contact NM Rothschild, the merchant bank handling the sale, within weeks. The bidding process was triggered by the decision of the Macdonald family to sell its 52% stake last week.
One of Glenmorangie’s biggest shareholders said Brown-Forman, based in Louisville, Kentucky, would face tough competition. Nick Train of investment management firm Lindsell Train, which holds a stake that accounts for roughly 6.5% of the voting rights, said: "I am certain there will be interest. I would be amazed if there was not more than one potential bidder that emerged. It is an incredibly strong brand. It still looks a bit undervalued, even after the rise this week."
He added: "It is a rare opportunity. There are not many offerings such as Glenmorangie left in the market, particularly publicly quoted companies."
Other potential bidders include Bacardi, which distributes Glenmorangie in some countries, and Moet Hennessy, the French drinks group.
Competition rules are likely to exclude Diageo, the world’s biggest drinks group, but London-based Allied Domecq is thought to be a strong candidate because it owns relatively few malt whiskies.
Dominic Roskrow, the editor of Whisky magazine, said: "I wouldn’t want to rule Allied Domecq out. In the past few years they have made more of an effort with their malt whisky brands."
Allied sold its Ardbeg distillery to Glenmorangie for £7m in 1997. But the London-based group may be keen to acquire the Glenmorangie distillery in Easter Ross.
Glenmorangie’s chief executive, Paul Neep, said last week that competitors of Brown-Forman would see their bids treated fairly despite the close working relationship between the US group and Glenmorangie.
Shares in Glenmorangie leapt by 36% last week, valuing the group at an all-time high of £246m. Investors may hold out for £320m, using the same valuation model that was applied to The Macallan malt when it was bought by Edrington in 1999.
Malt whisky is one of the fastest-growing categories of the international spirits trade, spurred on by consumers looking for higher quality. By contrast, the traditionally more popular blended whiskies are barely holding on against vodka, rum and alcopops. Glenmorangie is regarded as one of the top malt whisky producers and similar opportunities are unlikely to come up this decade. Its flagship brand is the UK’s most popular and the world’s sixth most popular malt.
But some observers believe the West Lothian company is already overpriced, given that it has yet to make more than £10m a year in pre-tax profits. As well as its two leading malts, it makes Glen Moray, a budget malt, and a number of blended and supermarket own-label whiskies Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Staff set for cash windfall DIRECTORS and employees at Glenmorangie could be in line for a cash windfall from the sale of the whisky giant. The strong rise in the company’s market value since the sale move was announced has significantly enhanced the potential value of outstanding share options in the company. And although the future of the executive directors following any sale is as yet unclear, if they were to leave the company they would be in line for handsome payoffs.
Chief executive Paul Neep, pictured, sales and marketing director Simon Erlanger and finance director and deputy chief executive Iain Hamilton are all on contracts requiring two years notice from the company.
Neep received a total pay package including bonus and benefits of £340,000 last year, Erlanger £204,000 and Hamilton £262,000. Operations director Peter Nelson, who received £155,000, is on a one year contract. It is also thought they would be compensated for the loss of share options under performance-related schemes. More than 850,000 options were outstanding under share option schemes for directors and senior management earlier this year. Almost 200,000 options on ‘A’ shares in the company are exercisable before 2010 at £3.80 - compared to Friday’s price of £13.35.
The value of the shares already held by directors in the company has risen by £160,000 since the sale move was announced. Under separate savings-related option schemes, there are also more than 60,000 options held by management and employees exercisable at prices ranging from 632p and 705.7p between this month and 2007.
Staff may also be able to exercise options before their normal exercise date although they may be liable to tax on any gain. Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Malt's brand new image MALT whisky Glenlivet is to undergo a £6.5 million marketing boost in a bid to make it the biggest-selling brand in the world.
Glenlivet manufacturer Chivas Brothers has outlined new growth targets for the single malt, which it aims to push ahead of arch rival Glenfiddich.
Martin Riley, Chivas’s international director of marketing, said the company initially wanted to push sales up to 500,000 nine-litre cases a year, before driving head-to-head with Glenfiddich, which sells around 800,000 cases annually.
Glenlivet is also to be given new labels and packaging and be marketed under the new slogan "The single malt that started it all" - aimed at highlighting its history as the first legal Scotch distillery in the area.
The campaign, which involves the Glenlivet 12-year-old, 18-year-old and a 15-year-old French oak reserve, will kick off in the US next month, followed by the UK in October.. Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Bidding war opens for Glenmorangie GLENMORANGIE was at the centre of a furious bidding war last night as the Macdonald family’s decision to sell its controlling share sent ripples of interest through the City, catapulting its shares up over 25 per cent.
The company has been valued at £250 million, but analysts say it could reach £300m if a bidding war ensues. Although no formal bids have come to the table, two front runners in Brown Foreman, (makers of Jack Daniel’s) and Bacardi have emerged.
Last night, an analyst said: "Perhaps Brown Foreman have the slight edge as they already own 10 per cent of the shares, have a big cooperage business and have no whisky brands of their own. But if it comes down to money, one has to favour Bacardi."
In 2000, Brown Foreman, struck a deal with Glenmorangie to distribute its products in most international markets, including the United States and the Far East. Bacardi has the contract for distribution in the UK.
Yesterday, it emerged that the Macdonald family made the decision to sell early this year and informed the board at the end of June soon after the company’s AGM.
Since David Macdonald retired as chairman eight years ago, none of his four daughters has been a director of the company. It is believed they have decided to cash in while the share price is still very strong. It comes after a five-year period of sustained growth - the longest in the company’s history.
They have appointed NM Rothschild to conduct an auction which could land the Macdonald family a £150m windfall.
Yesterday Glenmorangie’s chief executive, Paul Neep, said their decision to sell did come as a surprise but the objective now was to retain the best value for all the shareholders and return to business as usual.
Neep said: "There is the sense that the major shareholders realise they can’t be the controlling shareholders for ever and they want to exit while they can control the process."
The West Lothian distiller, which earns 90 per cent of its profits from three single malt brands - flagship Glenmorangie, Ardbeg and Glen Moray - reported a 10 per cent increase in profits on a 6 per cent rise in turnover.
But in the past eight years it has pursued an own-label strategy. This has seen the company supply blended whisky to supermarkets as well as managing its entire whisky category. Sources in the industry said, while it has enabled it to grow turnover, the strategy has been "deeply unprofitable" and that earnings and margins have come under pressure.
One source said: "There is a feeling in the City that the antiquated share structure that the Macdonald family retains has been holding the company back."
Shares closed up 25.77 per cent at £13.30. Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Glenmorangie is put on the market Whisky group in early talks over sell-off
ONE of Scotland’s most famous distillers, the West Lothian-based Glenmorangie group, was today put up for sale.
The 300-year-old company, which employs almost 400 staff at its headquarters in Broxburn, West Lothian, and its base in Tain, Ross-shire, has been put on the market by its owners, the Edinburgh-based Macdonald family.
The company is in preliminary talks with a number of potential buyers.
The Glenmorangie brand, and the fact that it represents the most popular malt in the domestic market, will make the company an attractive proposition. City analysts value the company at up to £300 million.
The sale is expected to net the Macdonald family £100m. One industry journal is tipping Bacardi and Brown-Forman, the American firm that makes Jack Daniel’s, as favourites to buy the company. Glenmorangie has been owned since 1918 by the Leith-based family firm Macdonald and Muir.
In 1996, the company moved its headquarters to Broxburn, where it now employs 234 staff at its bottling plant and head offices. There had been no hint of a sale until yesterday and meetings were due to be held this morning to break the news to staff.
The family have appointed NM Rothschild, the City investment bank, to sound out potential purchasers for their controlling stake in Glenmorangie. It is understood that the shares are spread among about 15 family members, although the majority are held in charitable and family trusts.
A spokeswoman for the group said the Macdonald family had "realised it could not be a controlling shareholder forever" and had decided to exit the group from a position of strength.
The sale, which is expected to be concluded within three months, comes after a recovery in the company’s fortunes in recent years.
The Macdonald family is said to keep a low profile and to have had little direct involvement in the company since David Macdonald stepped down as chairman in 1995, although two family members are still employees of the company.
Glenmorangie, which recently overtook Glenfiddich as the UK’s best-selling malt, produces 1.6 million cases of whisky a year.
The company’s main malt whisky brands are Glenmorangie Single Highland malt, Ardbeg Single Islay and Glen Moray Speyside malt.
Shares in Glenmorangie soared following the announcement, with the group’s "A" shares, which are the most commonly held and confer one voting right on the holder, rising 18 per cent, or 192.5p to 1250p.
Scotch Whisky Association spokesman Campbell Evans said: "Glenmorangie is one of the best-known names in the industry and was the sixth best-selling whisky in the world in recent figures so it is an extremely attractive prospect."
Today, West Lothian Council deputy leader Willie Dunn said he was hopeful that employees’ jobs would be secure.
He said: "This has come as a complete surprise - I certainly knew nothing about this. Obviously this is a worrying time for the staff, but, as it is being sold as a going concern, hopefully that should secure long-term employment for the staff.
"It is not as though the company is in trouble. It is a strong, solid company."
Macdonald and Muir was established in Leith in 1893 by Roderick Macdonald and Alexander Muir. Today it is one of the few remaining independent family-owned and controlled companies of Scotch whisky distillers and blenders.
In 1982, the company embarked on an international marketing drive, stressing the premium quality and hand-crafted character of Glenmorangie, helping to pioneer the taste for single malt - the success story of whisky in the 1980s.
Glenmorangie now exports to more than 120 countries.
Brown-Forman Corp is already a Glenmorangie shareholder.
The Macdonald family controls the company’s "B" shares, which account for 65 per cent of votes. The "A" shares, 25 per cent of which are owned by Brown-Forman, account for the rest of the votes.
Analysts also tipped privately-owned beverage firm Bacardi, which has distribution deals in Europe with Glenmorangie, as a possible contender for a takeover. Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Whisky extravaganza to hit Glasgow IT PROMISED to be one of the world’s largest whisky-tasting events and this week organisers have been true to their word as they unveiled more than 30 exhibitors and 50 brands for the two-day festival.
Whisky Live, a festival celebrating all aspects of the "water of life", will be held in Glasgow next month in what organisers hope will be the largest whisky-tasting extravaganza ever held in the UK.
A plethora of malts including The Macallan, Glenmorangie, The Glenfiddich and Glengoyne will be on show. As well as the whiskies, a variety of experts, including Richard Paterson, of Whyte & Mackay, will be on hand to deliver a series of masterclasses to give members of the public a chance to learn more about fine malt whisky.
The event will take place in the city’s George Square and will appeal to both the enthusiast and the novice, giving festival-goers the chance to sample some of the greatest whiskies in the world, while mingling with the producers and distillers, all on one site.
Damian Riley-Smith, the managing director and founder of Whisky Magazine and the event’s organiser, said that the support from the whisky industry for this inaugural Whisky Live in Scotland had been fantastic.
He said: "Every leading brand, and a fine selection of the more specialised offerings, will be available to sample at Scotland’s greatest display of its greatest export.
"As hotels, bars and restaurants spread the word, so the enthusiasm to experience Scotland’s national treasure first hand grows daily."
The event began life in Tokyo in 2000, in response to Japan’s huge interest in Scotch whisky. Mr Riley-Smith then brought it to London and Paris. Later this year, he hopes to hold sister tastings in South Africa, Cape Town, San Francisco and New York during Tartan Week. Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Whisky Fringe 2004 A dram fine time was had by everyone
THE smell of whisky wafting down the grand staircase leading to the Signet Library was enough to knock you for six before you’d even tasted a drop of the stuff.
The aroma was made up of the 150 drams on offer at this year’s sell-out Whisky Fringe, courtesy of distillers from all over Scotland, plus a few from Ireland and the United States for good measure.
With 400 people packed into the venue, the heat was at times stifling but didn’t seem to spoil most people’s enjoyment.
Indeed, some grown men were behaving like kids let loose in a sweet shop.
"It’s great - I can go up and ask for drams of whiskies I could never afford to buy," enthused one punter as he joined the queue for a taste of Highland Park 25-year-old, the smoother grand-daddy of the Orkney distillery’s signature malt.
While some did seem a bit the worse for wear rather too early in the afternoon - "yes, there’s quite a few arm-flingers", as the chap dishing out the Bunnahabhain commented - most people were selective about which whiskies they wanted to try.
Glenfiddich’s Havana Reserve was a popular choice, as was the sneak preview of the new Macallan Fine Oak range. The 18-year-old Glenlivet was also going down well.
Whether people came to enjoy their favourite dram and try something new, or to try the water of life for the first time, most appeared to be having a dram fine time. Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Edrington makes it a double for US EDRINGTON, the private whisky group that is joint owner of the North British grain distillery in Edinburgh, has launched two new products in the United States, one of its biggest markets.
The group’s Famous Grouse Vintage Malt, which has been successful in the UK and Taiwan, is now for sale in Chicago, Boston and Denver. A nationwide release is likely to follow, the company said.
The Famous Grouse brand has bucked the trend in the US, where the blended sector is in decline, Edrington said, adding the new vintage malt version has been well received so far.
The Macallan Fine Oak, a lighter style of single malt, was also launched this week, in New York.
The Macallan brand already sells 300,000 cases a year, with important markets in the US and Asia. The brand was recently awarded its sixth Queen’s Award for enterprise, and its 18-year-old product was named "best malt in the world" by Whisky Magazine, the industry bible. Edrington has also designed new bottles and packaging for its key brands, Famous Grouse and the Macallan’s sherry oak-matured range.
Chief executive Ian Curle said the company plans to develop premium extensions to existing brands Cutty Sark and Highland Park, and to look at new offerings after the success of the Famous Grouse Liqueur last Christmas.
"We are firmly committed to being more innovative and developing this area of the business, which provides the opportunity for long-term brand-building on the global stage," said Mr Curle, who took over the reins from Ian Good, now chairman, in April.
Mr Curle intends to grow the core brands to leading and premium positions in existing markets, plus new and emerging markets. He said: "It’s important that we generate fresh revenue streams and a new product development team has been set up to provide new ideas." Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
Rare whisky fetches £5,000 A RARE bottle of 50-year-old malt whisky has been bought for £5,000 by a mystery collector.
Only 60 bottles of the special Dalmore were produced and only eight remained. The buyer is said to be a local collector but his name was not revealed.
However, the purchase price does not quite compare to the £25,877.50 paid for a Dalmore 62-year-old malt which was sold at auction last year, the highest price ever fetched for a bottle of single malt whisky.
The 50-year-old was stored in three casks at the Dalmore distillery in Easter Ross on 1 May, 1926, the same day that 25,000 people in Glasgow staged a mass demonstration in support of the miners.
It was bottled on 17 February 1978 in hand-blown crystal decanters and is said to have a "deep, rich, intense, honied gold" colour with a soft and elegant nose.
Drew Sinclair, the Dalmore distillery manager, said: "It really is testament to the quality of our whisky that people have chosen to invest in this special malt." Articles Courtesy of The Scotsman
