EDINBURGH-based business Old Curiosity Distillery has secured a £250,000 loan from Royal Bank of Scotland through the UK Government’s Coronavirus Business Intervention Loan Scheme (CBILS).
The funding will provide the family-owned business, which currently employs 28 staff at its distillery and herb garden in the city’s Pentland hills, with essential cash flow – helping to secure jobs and protect the future viability of the company.
Old Curiosity is the only gin distillery in the UK to grow its own botanical ingredients onsite, securing contracts with high end retailers including Harrods and Fortnum and Mason. In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the distillers began producing their own hand sanitiser using herbal ingredients and essential oils.
While the firm has suffered a shortfall in sales, adapting its business model to focus on the production of hand sanitiser has allowed the business to stay afloat and continue producing the safety approved antibacterial sanitiser – essential in the fight against coronavirus.
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Hamish Martin, Old Curiosity Distillery and Secret Herb Garden, managing director, said: “Like countless others, our business has taken a previously unimaginable hit since the outbreak of COVID-19.
“This is the most challenging period we’ve ever experienced, but Royal Bank of Scotland worked quickly to grant our loan – providing us with the necessary cash flow to survive the crisis and safeguard our family business for the future.”
