At the end of Arran Brewery plc first quarter after its first round of Crowd funding it reports having doubled its workforce from 15 to 30 staff and is well on its way to opening a second brewery: “The Loch Earn Brewery” in one of the most picturesque sites in Scotland, in St Fillans at the East end of Loch Earn.
The brewery is preparing to enter international markets and is planning Scotland’s first Sake Brewery in Dreghorn, North Ayrshire.
Managing Director Gerald Michaluk said: “Taking on so many staff and developing on all fronts is making this a frenetic place to work. We have three bars open at the moment and a café, with a restaurant and Bistro to open shortly, this is meaning everyone in the team is working flat out. The crowd funding has meant we are able to invest in the staff and infrastructure we need to catch up with others in the Craft Brewing Arena, but more investment is required and a second round of funding is likely to be needed towards the end of the year”.
“New rules for Crowd Funded offers mean that investors need to pre-register and complete a short questionnaire before we can offer them shares in the next round. Given the development and increase in potential new shares will be likely to be offered at a premium over the first round share price”.
Arran Brewery plc raised a total of £260,000 in its first round of funding and has retained its target of achieving £4m in total. The process of Crown Funding takes several rounds to reach enough investors and with a successful first round behind them Arran Brewery is following in the foot steps of other Scottish Brewers in forging ahead in the Craft Beer market through the mechanism Crown Funding.
Arran Blonde is advertised in the US market as Scotland’s Best Selling Packaged Scottish Craft Ale as under the US definition of Craft Brewing it is. However, there is no agreed definition in the UK and you would think it would be satisfied with its 11th place in the overall ranking of packaged Ales sold in Scotland? But no it has simply adopted the US definition of Craft Beer and is now making the claim in its UK advertising.
While Craft Brands such as Brew Dog’s Punk IPA is closing fast on its heals, Arran is confident it can fend off the challenge with its current wave of investment and retain its (if based on a US definition) place as Scotland’s Best Selling Packaged Craft Ale.