Glenmorangie Sells Glen Moray Distillery

[William]

Although Whyte & Mackay showed an interest in purchasing the Glen Moray distillery, Glenmorangie has signed a Heads of Terms agreement with independent French spirits company, La Martiniquaise, for the sale of the Glen Moray Distillery in Elgin and the Glen Moray single malt Scotch whisky brand.

As already mentioned here on the forum, the sale of the Glen Moray Distillery represents an important part of Glenmorangies re-organisation plans which they announced in July this year, which incorporate a major investment programme worth £45 million.

The company will focus on developing its premium, international single malt Scotch whisky brands - Glenmorangie and Ardbeg - to meet the growing demand for single malt whisky in key and emerging markets such as Asia, Europe and the USA.

According to the company, the Glen Moray Distillery will be sold as a going concern and it is expected that all the existing employees will transfer to the new owners as part of the sale agreement.

The deal is expected to formally complete before the end of October.

The Glenmorangie Company Chief Executive Paul Neep said: "We believe that La Martiniquaise will provide an excellent "home' for the Distillery, the brand and its employees and they will continue to develop and expand the Glen Moray brand."?

If like me you are unfamiliar with La Martiniquaise here is a bit about them:

La Martiniquaise, headquartered near Paris, is a major spirits group in France. The company has significant Scotch whisky operations at Bathgate, West Lothian, where leading Scotch whisky brands in France Glen Turner single malt and Label 5 blended Scotch whisky are bottled.

William

[John]

LA MARTINIQUAISE, the French spirits firm, is planning to significantly expand its operations in Scotland after acquiring the Glen Moray distillery, they have revealed plans to build another distillery.

The independent French company, which has its headquarters near Paris, has agreed with Glenmorangie to buy its Glen Moray Distillery in Elgin and has been granted planning permission to build a distillery and warehouses in Bathgate.

Planning permission has been approved for a malt and grain distillery with maturation warehouses on La Martiniquaise's West Lothian site in Bathgate. The new Lowland distillery, most likely to be called Glen Turner Distillery, will be used to supply whisky to France's burgeoning supermarket sector where La Martiniquaise has a number of sizeable contracts.

The sale of the Glen Moray Distillery, which is expected to be formally completed before the end of October, represents the first stage in Glenmorangie's £45m reorganisation plan. The move is part of a strategy drawn up by its parent company LVMH to withdraw from the bottling and sale of blended Scotch whisky and to focus solely on the fast growing international market in single malts.

That plan will also result in Glenmorangie relocating its headquarters to Edinburgh and a major revamp at its distillery in Tain, Ross-shire, where the brand is made.

John