A new Distillery in Moray, The Cabrach Distillery & Heritage Centre, has secured £500,000 investment from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
The £5m social enterprise project is being run by The Cabrach Trust which was formed in 2013. The Cabrach Distillery and Heritage Centre is the Trust’s first major initiative forming the foundation of their economic and social development strategy. It says, “This project will breathe new life into the area, stimulating a renaissance of people living and working in the Cabrach. It will attract thousands of new visitors to the area and contribute to celebrating and protecting the cultural history and heritage of the Cabrach.
“Our Historic Distillery will reflect manufacturing techniques from the early 1800’s as part of the unique visitor experience. Once aged, the bottled product will be available for sale, as part of the Trust’s long term sustainability plan.”
The masterplan, developed by the charity, forecasts that after eight years annual turnover will reach around £3.4m with the creation of 12.5 full time equivalent posts. All surplus profits from the venture will be reinvested for the benefit of the community.
The HIE funding will be used to help cover the costs of construction works on the refurbishment of farm steading buildings at Inverharroch Farm, which will become the home of The Cabrach Distillery.
Jonathan Christie, chief executive officer of The Cabrach Trust, said, “This investment from Highlands and Islands Enterprise is central to realising The Cabrach Distillery; a project which will serve as the lungs of our long term, transformational regeneration strategy for this important place.
“Beyond vital funding, the trust is excited to work alongside HIE as we deliver what we collectively believe has the potential to become an exemplar of community led rural regeneration in action.”
The Cabrach Distillery will be operated as a Community Interest Company (CIC) and that Trust explain that this “enshrines the social purpose which underpins this development, allowing our subsidiary to operate as a social enterprise with future surpluses generated being made available to support the Trust’s community led regeneration masterplan.”
Picture: The Cabrach Trust