Latest news with #TaylorCostaVanPutten
The National
03-05-2025
- Business
- The National
Two Scotch whisky cask investment firms go bust with all jobs lost
The two Edinburgh-based whisky investment firms, Cask 88 and Braeburn Whisky, have folded, with all staff made redundant this week, Forbes has reported. According to reports, a Glasgow-based holding company with ties to the firms, Teaghglach Holdings PLC, has placed an 'active proposal to strike off' with Companies House, meaning that the legal process to dissolve the parent company has begun. Former employees, who have asked not to be identified for fear of endangering current or future employment, confirmed to Forbes that both sister firms had ceased operation on April 30. READ MORE: BrewDog records multi-million pound loss in major US market slump In a video back in March, Taylor Costa Van Putten, president of Braeburn USA, bragged that his company was 'the world's international whisky investment experts' and claimed the company had $80 million in assets. However, it has been reported that prospective investors who put their money in the companies are likely to lose it. It has been reported that multiple warehouses have confirmed that many anxious clients of the two firms have made desperate phone calls to find their casks, although it is unclear if they have been able to locate them. Cask 88 and Braeburn Whisky have been approached for comment.
Forbes
02-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
$80 Million Scotch Whisky Cask Investment Firm Goes Bust
Scotch whisky casks in 1950. It remains to be seen whether the casks supposedly owned by Scotch ... More whisky investment firms Cask 88 and Braeburn Whisky actually exist. The world of Scotch whisky cask investment has always been high risk and also plagued by misinformation and riddled with fraudsters who had landed on whisky after running other types of commodities scams. Now, sister Scotch whisky cask investment firms Cask 88 and Braeburn Whisky have gone bust. Though neither company responded to a request for comment, multiple sources that worked with both companies, including former employees, confirmed that both have folded. Sources – some of whom asked not to be identified for fear of endangering current or future employment -- also confirmed that most, and possibly all staff were let go this week on April 3o as well. Teaghglach Holdings PLC, the Glasgow-based holding company with ties to the firms, has placed an "active proposal to strike off" with Companies House, the register for UK-based businesses – meaning that the legal process to dissolve the parent company has begun. However, another company associated with the firms, Whisky Merchants Trading Ltd, of Edinburgh, was still active at time of writing. In a video released in March, Taylor Costa Van Putten, president of Braeburn USA, bragged that Braeburn are "the world's international whisky investment experts' and claimed that the company has $80 million in assets. It now appears that the prospective investors who put their money and faith in the companies are likely to lose a lot of their money, with multiple warehouses confirming that many anxious clients of the two firms are making desperate phone calls to find their casks. And perhaps most tellingly, Cask 88's World Smallest Whisky Bar in Edinburgh, a former police information box located to the Johnnie Walker Princes Street whisky experience which was opened with great fanfare as a bar in 2022, has now been painted over. Casks of whisky in 1950. Many scotch whisky cask investment firms sell casks that don't exist, or ... More make prospective investors pay vastly inflated prices. The news emerges in the wake of multiple warnings from industry figures, including me. I'm the co-founder of Protect Your Cask, a website providing information and details about cask investment scams and responsible cask ownership. Recent investigations by The New York Times as well as the BBC about Scotch whisky cask investment scams have also increased scrutiny on the situation. The City of London Police are also currently investigating at least three suspected scammer firms, including Cask Whisky Ltd, Cask Spirits Global Ltd, and Whisky Scotland. Firms operating scams typically either sell imaginary casks or real casks at greatly inflated prices, sell the same cask to multiple buyers -- or a mix of these tactics. They start by using social media — and sometimes advertise in established publications – to cast a wide net, targeting victims ranging from curious investors to the elderly and financially vulnerable. They promise attractive, consistent returns and pitch so-called "multiple exit strategies" to make the investment seem low risk. To build credibility, they often refer to historical sales of rare whisky, even though the UK's Advertising Standards Authority has ruled many of these claims as misleading. Once investors agree to purchase a cask, they're typically handed a 'certificate of ownership.' But in reality, this document is often meaningless; it neither guarantees legal ownership nor proves the cask even exists. The most important principle in legitimate cask ownership is that the investor must have direct contact with the warehouse storing the cask, usually via a document called a Delivery Order. If that line of communication doesn't exist, it's a potential major red flag. The promise made to prospective investors by most Scotch whisky cask investment firms of 'multiple exit strategies', including from Braeburn Whisky, tend to fall apart under scrutiny. In many cases, as detailed by the BBC and also in cases I have seen, when a cask is allegedly resold — real or not — it's usually to another buyer found by the same investment firm, at an inflated price. Simply put, this kind of approach resembles a pyramid scheme rather than a legitimate investment practice. In a few rare cases, an investor might actually turn a profit, but only by offloading the cask to another buyer and offloading the risk at the same time. These occasional 'success stories' are then used to create the false impression that these firms are reputable and acting responsibly in the interests of its clients. As firms in this sector begin to collapse and investors wonder what's happened to their money and casks, it's clear that more disturbing headlines regarding Scotch whisky cask investment scams are likely to arrive -- and that in many cases, the 'water of life' can be repurposed as the choice liquid of scams.
