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Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Wells Fargo has charge over shares in Dublin Liberties Distillery owner
Newly-filed paperwork with the Companies Registration Office (CRO), which was signed off by directors just last month and lodged last week, confirms the charge. The sign-off came just as Quintessential Brands was closing its Dublin Liberties Distillery in the capital, as it faces headwinds affecting the global whiskey market. It said at the time that the closure is temporary and that it is committed to reopening the venue 'soon'. A spokesperson for Quintessential Brands said the paperwork filed with the CRO relates to refinancing completed in 2020. It's unclear why there was a near five-year delay. Because of the nature of the agreement, which involves shares, a declaration had to be filed under Section 203 of the Companies Act, which relates to transactions involving financial assistance for the acquisition of shares. 'Failure to file the declaration not later than 21 days after the date of the restricted activity will invalidate the carrying on of that activity,' the CRO says. The High Court can validate a late filing where it is 'just and equitable' to do so. The Quintessential spokesperson said: 'It is paperwork that is finally being put in place for the refinancing that was completed in December 2020. Its covenants haven't changed and still apply today and moving forward.' The paperwork signed off by directors on May 16 states that Quintessential Brands Ireland Holdings 'will accede' to a facilities agreement originally dated in 2011 and subsequently amended and restated a number of times between Quintessential Brands Ireland Whiskey Limited and Wells Fargo Capital Finance (UK), including on April 29, 2020, and on December 17, 2020. 'It is a condition to the continued availability of the facilities available under the amended and restated facilities agreement that the company… enter into a share charge, between the company and Wells Fargo Capital Finance,' according to the new filing with the CRO. Quintessential Brands Ireland Holdings also owns First Ireland Spirits, the largest independent producer of Irish cream liqueur and Irish country creams in Ireland, according to the group. It has a manufacturing facility outside Abbeyleix in Co Laois. The Irish holding company is part of the wider Quintessential Brands group, which manufactures own-label and private-label drinks. Its stable includes Greenall's Gin, Dead Rabbit Irish Whiskey and O'Mara's Country Cream.
Irish Independent
16-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Dublin Liberties Distillery to close temporarily next week
Majority-owned by Quintessential Brands, the distilling unit of the business has already been closed, and the visitors' centre is set to shut on Tuesday. "The Dublin Liberties Distillery will temporarily close next week. We have not been immune to the headwinds in the whiskey sector but are committed to reopening again soon,' a spokesperson for Quintessential Brands Group said. Staff at the visitor centre confirmed that the venue will close from next week and that no more bookings are being accepted. Liberties is just the latest Irish distillery venture to either close or retrench, following a more than decade-long renaissance of the sector. In 2016, Quintessential Brands bought Dublin Whiskey Company and said it would spend €10m to build a new distillery in the capital, as well as a visitors' centre. Dublin Whiskey Company had been founded in 2012. It was renamed as The Dublin Liberties Whiskey Distillery. In 2017, Quintessential Brands announced that a total of €28m would be invested in the distillery and its whiskey brands, including The Dubliner and Dublin Liberties. At the time it agreed an €18.3m investment by Stock Spirits Group in return for a 25pc equity interest in Quintessential Brands Irish Whiskey Limited (QBIW), which owns the two whiskey brands. The investment by Stock Spirits included an initial €15m in cash plus a further deferred cash consideration over a five-year period. QBIW used the investment to complete the construction and fit-out of the Dublin Liberties Distillery on Mill Street in Dublin and to accelerate advertising and promotional investment in the brands underpinned by significant investment in stock maturation. In 2022, Dublin Liberties Distillery and the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers signed a three-year sponsorship agreement, naming the distillery a partner of the team. Quintessential Brands also owns a slew of other drinks including Greenall's Gin, Dead Rabbit Irish Whiskey, and O'Mara's Country Cream. It also owns First Ireland Spirits, which is the largest independent producer of Irish cream liqueur and Irish country creams in Ireland, with a manufacturing facility in Abbeyleix, Co Laois. ADVERTISEMENT The company was founded in 2011 by Enzo Visone, the former chief executive of Campari, and entrepreneur Warren Scott. The latest set of accounts for Quintessential Brands Ireland Holdings show that the unit generated revenue of €22.6m in the 12 months to the end of March last year, and made a €6.6m pre-tax loss. That compared to revenue of €31.5m the year before, when it made a €1m pre-tax loss. A number of distillers and craft brewers in Ireland have come under pressure in the past year. Last month the Scottish firm William Grant & Sons confirmed that whiskey production at its Tullamore Distillery, which produces Tullamore DEW, would cease for up to three months due to challenging international trading conditions. Irish Distillers owner Pernod Ricard paused whiskey production at Midleton in Co Cork last month for up to three months.
Irish Independent
16-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Dublin Liberties Distillery to close next week
Quintessential Brands has been asked for comment. Staff at the visitor centre confirmed that the venue will close permanently from next week and that no more bookings are being accepted. Liberties is just the latest Irish distillery venture to either close or retrench, following a more than decade-long renaissance of the sector. In 2016, Quintessential Brands bought Dublin Whiskey Company and said it would spend €10m to build a new distillery in the capital, as well as a visitors' centre. Dublin Whiskey Company had been founded in 2012. It was renamed as The Dublin Liberties Whiskey Distillery. In 2017, Quintessential Brands announced that a total of €28m would be invested in the distillery and its whiskey brands, including The Dubliner and Dublin Liberties. At the time it agreed an €18.3m investment by Stock Spirits Group in return for a 25pc equity interest in Quintessential Brands Irish Whiskey Limited (QBIW), which owns the two whiskey brands. The investment by Stock Spirits included an initial €15m in cash plus a further deferred cash consideration over a five-year period. QBIW used the investment to complete the construction and fit-out of the Dublin Liberties Distillery on Mill Street in Dublin and to accelerate advertising and promotional investment in the brands underpinned by significant investment in stock maturation. In 2022, Dublin Liberties Distillery and the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers signed a three-year sponsorship agreement, naming the distillery a partner of the team. Quintessential Brands also owns a slew of other drinks including Greenall's Gin, Dead Rabbit Irish Whiskey, and O'Mara's Country Cream. It also owns First Ireland Spirits, which is the largest independent producer of Irish cream liqueur and Irish country creams in Ireland, with a manufacturing facility in Abbeyleix, Co Laois. The company was founded in 2011 by Enzo Visone, the former chief executive of Campari, and entrepreneur Warren Scott. The latest set of accounts for Quintessential Brands Ireland Holdings show that the unit generated revenue of €22.6m in the 12 months to the end of March last year, and made a €6.6m pre-tax loss. That compared to revenue of €31.5m the year before, when it made a €1m pre-tax loss. A number of distillers and craft brewers in Ireland have come under pressure in the past year. Last month the Scottish firm William Grant & Sons confirmed that whiskey production at its Tullamore Distillery, which produces Tullamore DEW, would cease for up to three months due to challenging international trading conditions. Irish Distillers owner Pernod Ricard paused whiskey production at Midleton in Co Cork last month for up to three months.
