Steam rises from distillery as whiskey production commences in Dundalk

The sight of steam rising from the old Harp Lager brewery this week was a welcome one.

It’s been a long time since we have seen it happen but it will now become a regular sight once again after the Great Northern Distillery began whiskey distillation this week after a €10m investment.

The site is the first of two distilleries being built in the former Great Northern Brewery, which is affectionately known as the Harp Lagar brewery locally.

Former Cooley Distillery boss John Teeling, who sold that business to US giant Jim Beam in 2011 in a €71m deal that netted the businessman about €20m, is the man behind the new project.

The new distillery on the Carrick Road has a capacity of 30m bottles a year in its three-column still with production having kicked off there recently.

Spirits will be casked in oak barrels and matured in bonded warehouses for at least three years before it can be called Irish whiskey. A sister distillery on the site is being commissioned and will begin distillation by the end of August. The second distillery has three large copper pots capable of distilling 12m bottles a year of single malt and pot still whiskey.

John Teeling bought the former Great Northern Brewery from Diageo two years ago after production had moved to James’s Gate in Dublin. The Great Northern Distillery will supply whiskeys to new Irish distilleries and to the Retail Own Label and Private Label segments worldwide, a sector previously served by Cooley.

Irish whiskey sales are expected to double to 250m bottles by 2024.

 

Distilling commences at Great Northern Distillery in Dundalk

John Teeling at the Great Northern Distillery in Dundalk

Whiskey distillation has begun at the new Great Northern Distillery in Dundalk following a €10m investment.

The site is the first of two distilleries being built in the former Great Northern Brewery, which is affectionately known as the Harp Lagar brewery locally.

Former Cooley Distillery boss John Teeling, who sold that business to US giant Jim Beam in 2011 in a €71m deal that netted the businessman about €20m, is the man behind the new project.

The new distillery on the Carrick Road has a capacity of 30m bottles a year in its three-column still with production having kicked off there recently.

Spirits will be casked in oak barrels and matured in bonded warehouses for at least three years before it can be called Irish whiskey. A sister distillery on the site is being commissioned and will begin distillation by the end of August. The second distillery has three large copper pots capable of distilling 12m bottles a year of single malt and pot still whiskey.

John Teeling bought the former Great Northern Brewery from Diageo two years ago after production had moved to James’s Gate in Dublin. The Great Northern Distillery will supply whiskeys to new Irish distilleries and to the Retail Own Label and Private Label segments worldwide, a sector previously served by Cooley.

Irish whiskey sales are expected to double to 250m bottles by 2024.

Alltech buys Ridley for €400m

Dr Pearse Lyons

US firm Alltech, which was founded by Dundalk native Pearse Lyons, has agreed to pay almost €400m to buy a Minnesota-based animal nutrition firm.

Alltech, which has interests ranging from animal nutrition, to beer and whiskey, will acquire Ridley in what Mr Lyons described as a “transformative transaction”.

Ridley is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Founded in 1980 in Lexington, Kentucky, by Mr Lyons, Alltech has evolved into a business generating $1bn (€900m) a year in sales. Mr Lyons previously worked for Irish Distillers before moving to the United States. He has estimated that the Alltech business is now worth $3bn (€2.7bn).

“This transformative transaction that combines two industry leaders allows Alltech to deliver better performance and value to livestock and poultry producers across the globe,” said Mr Lyons, who indicated earlier this year that he was looking at possible acquisitions or joint ventures to grow the business.

Ridley is one of the largest commercial animal nutrition businesses in North America and its clients include livestock producers as well as equine and pet breeders. Since 1994, it has grown substantially in the US and Canada, through the acquisition of a number of animal nutrition businesses. It also has operations in Kentucky.

Alltech is paying a 23pc premium to Ridley’s average closing share price over the last 20 days.

In its last financial year, Ridley generated revenue of $568.7m (€526m) and recorded adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $39.3m (€36.3m).

Mr Lyons said that Alltech will be able to bring its advanced nutrition technology to market “faster and more effectively” following the acquisition of Ridley.

“This combination creates a new model to deliver superior animal nutrition and tailored feeding programs supported by robust scientific research and data analytics,” he said. “This deal underscores our continued momentum in growing our business through strategic acquisitions of best-in-class companies with trusted technology and brand recognition.”

The combined company will have a presence in over 128 countries and 4,200 employees worldwide.

Alltech is wholly owned by Mr Lyons and his family and he has previously indicated that he has no intention of diluting their control over the business, despite approaches being made to buy the company.

He qualified as a biochemist from UCD before doing a PhD in Birmingham, and has retained very strong ties with Ireland.

Alltech has established a whiskey distillery in Co Carlow, and the company has been planning to build another distillery in Dublin. Last year, the company bought a disused church opposite the Guinness Hops Store, which it intends to spend €5m on to convert it to a distillery.

Alltech has also held a craft brewing festival in Dublin.

20% stake in Great Northern Distillery to be sold for around €5 million

John Teeling at the Great Northern Distillery in Dundalk

The Teeling family are reportedly in discussions with a number of investors to sell a 20% stake in the Great Northern Distillery in Dundalk for around €5 million.

According to an article in yesterday’s Sunday Business Post, discussions with investors are at an “advanced stage” and could be completed within the next couple of months.

The paper reports that the deal is set to value the company at more than €25 million.

It is understood that any equity investment deal is likely to involve a firm looking to launch a new whiskey, which will be supplied from Dundalk, while also investing in the company.

Currently two months from production, the Great Northern Distillery is looking to sign up clients and will specialise in supplying whiskey to private label brands rather than under its own name. The company is set to have its first whiskey available for delivery in 2017 and last week advertised a number of jobs in the local newspapers.

Entrepreneur John Teeling’s Irish Whiskey Company bought the brewery from Diageo in 2013 after they opted to close the former Great Northern Brewery, which was best known for producing Harp Lager, amongst other brands.

Teeling is the founder of Cooley Distillery, which was bought by US firm Jim Beam for €71 million in 2011.

The deal in Dundalk is separate to the Teeling Whiskey Company, which is owned and run by Teeling’s sons Jack and Stephen and is opening the first new distillery in Dublin in 125 years.

Great Northern Distillery in Dundalk seeking investors

The Great Northern Distillery in Dundalk will open its doors in the New Year and with Irish whiskey sales continually on the rise, people are now being invited to invest in the business run by former Cooley Distillery boss, John Teeling.

Work is currently ongoing at the former Great Northern/Harp Lager brewery to convert it into a 3.6 million litre pot still and an 8 million litre column still distillery.

The distillery, which will be overseen by former Cooley managers Teeling, James Finn and David Hayes is being built for the mass production of grain whiskey for use in blended whiskeys, which make up the overwhelming bulk of the Irish market.

According to The Sunday Business Post, the distillery is expected to come on stream in mid-2015, with three customers already in place.

The final piece in the process of getting the project off the ground is to secure extra funding for fit out and this is where the investment opportunity lies.

Overall, the Great Northern Distillery is looking to raise €2.5m and it is doing this through the Employment and Investment Incentive Scheme (EIIS).

Available for a minimum three year term, investors must provide a maximum of €25,000 and a maximum of €150,000, with a targeted return of 112%.

Tax relief is available at 30% in year one, with a further 11% in year four, making 41% in total.

Assuming top marginal tax rates are accessible by the investor, the expected IRR would equal circa 18%, or a times investment multiple of about 1.5.

“This is a low-risk investment of a type that has worked well for us before,” said Teeling.

“We want to raise €2.5 million through the EIIS scheme and we expect another investor to come in with around €5m and that will cover everything, leaving plenty of money to distill.”

For further information email Ireland@cantorfitzgerald.com or visit www.cantorfitzgerald.ie

Great Northern Distillery to open in January

The Great Northern Brewery, which is set to become the Great Northern Distillery

The Great Northern Distillery will be up and running by January.

That’s according to new owner John Teeling, who bought the former Great Northern Brewery site from Diageo last year.

The former Cooley Distillery boss plans to spend €35m over four years to transform the former Harp Lager brewery into one of the biggest in the country.

Speaking to The Dundalk Leader this week, Teeling said he hoped to have construction completed at the site by December, with the hope of being operational early in the New Year.

He revealed that three copper kettles will be adapted into pot stills, which will allow the company to build a grain and pot still distillery in the same still room.

The full capacity of the distillery will be three million cases.

The distillery will be operational 24 hours a day from Monday to Friday and is expected to employ between 25-30 people.

Its produce will mainly be sold to third parties, with the plan being to distill grain whiskeys, pot still whiskeys and single malts for both the national and international markets.

He also hinted that he may look at building a visitor centre at the existing Carrick Road entrance.

Teeling’s Irish Whiskey Company will only be using half of the 13 acre site with 6.8 acres of it already leased to Cellulac, who will create 30 new jobs in Dundalk for the sustainable production of lactic acid from second generation (2G) feedstocks.