21-07-2025
Spirits distribution company Proof & Company Spirits closes Singapore business
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Proof & Company Spirits said that 16 staff will lose their jobs in Singapore as a result of the closure.
SINGAPORE - After 13 years, Proof & Company Spirits - the Singapore-based distribution arm of independent spirits company Proof & Company - has entered provisional liquidation.
It cited casualties in the food and beverage scene as among the reasons for its closure.
'The decision follows a period of mounting challenges for the F&B and hospitality industry in Singapore, including the closure of some of the company's longest standing restaurant and bar customers,' said the company in a statement on Aug 21.
It told The Straits Times that 16 staff will lose their jobs in Singapore as a result of the closure.
The distributor, which most recently had an annual turnover of $7 million in Singapore and $34 million globally, has been supplying over 50 types of independent spirits in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region for the past decade.
Singapore has seen a mounting number of F&B closures in recent years. A total of 3,047 establishments shut their doors in 2024, the highest figure since 2005's 3,352 closures. Still, more than 3,790 new food businesses started up in 2024.
The first half of 2025 has seen 1,404 closures, compared to 1,611 in the same period in 2024.
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In the statement, Proof & Company Spirits said that its cocktail bar, 28 HongKong Street, will continue operations.
Its consultancy arm, Proof Creative, will continue to operate independently from its Hong Kong office, and 'remains committed to its global portfolio of ongoing client projects'.
Proof Creative is behind award-winning bars in the region, such as Atlas and Manhattan in Singapore, BKK Social Club in Bangkok and Argo in Hong Kong.
A spokesman for Proof & Company Spirits said of the provisional liquidation process: 'We are doing all we can to ensure a well-managed and productive outcome, while keeping our partners informed every step of the way.'
The process will be overseen by RSM SG Corporate Advisory, which will 'work closely with creditors, stakeholders, and management to evaluate potential paths forward', added the company.
Proof & Company, which operates in four markets - Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand - put its Australian business into voluntary administration in April 2025, citing a 'local economic downturn and a changing landscape in the spirits industry'.
Founded in Singapore in 2012, in what it called a 'period of regional growth in the spirits and hospitality industry', it said that market conditions in the past two years have been 'markedly different'.
It said 'significant market challenges in China, an extended downturn in Australia, and a recent acceleration in bar and restaurant closures in Singapore have all impacted the company's distribution operations'.
The company's distribution operations in Hong Kong and New Zealand will continue.
