Conor Murphy was speaking at the opening of the McConnell’s Distillery and visitor experience by five executive ministers in the former A-wing of Crumlin Road Gaol.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill, Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons and US Special Economic Envoy Joe Kennedy, were all at the event.

Financed by private investment, with backing from Invest NI and Santander, the redevelopment project is part of a £30m investment in Belfast Distillery Company’s revival of the 250-year-old McConnell’s Irish Whisky brand.

Alongside the new tourism experience, three new pot stills have been installed inside the former prison, capable of producing 500,000 litres of pure alcohol (LPA) per year, making north Belfast distillery one of the biggest spirit operations in Northern Ireland.

“McConnell’s has identified the opportunity the north presents as an exciting investment opportunity,” he said.

“They have created this beautiful new distillery and visitor experience as an innovative export focused business, producing a quality product at a venue that will attract and entertain tourists, along with creating a range of jobs in an area that has suffered from under-investment.”

First Minister Michelle O’Neill described the new distillery as “a remarkable story of imagination, innovation and determination”.

“I want to ensure this is a place where entrepreneurs can thrive and where people can come and work in first class facilities such as we see here today,” she said.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said: “It’s a great example of government departments working together with the private sector to deliver.”

The post Ministers hail rebirth as McConnell’s visitor experience opens appeared first on Licensed & Catering News (LCN) - News Coverage from the Local Trade.

Six Northern Ireland bars are celebrating after being named as the best in their counties,

The post Bars celebrating best in county awards success appeared first on Licensed & Catering News (LCN) - News Coverage from the Local Trade.

The business, which produces its own Irish whiskey brand Hinch and Ninth Wave Gin, was launched by serial entrepreneur Terry Cross and opened in 2021 on a site between Carryduff and Ballynahinch following a £15m investment.

Invest NI’s support included £1.9m toward the construction of the distillery as well as plant, machinery and equipment.

The latest accounts published on Companies House show Hinch Distillery Ltd has been running at a loss since 2000.

It brought the total losses for the three years ending June 2023 to £4.2m.

But Hinch has continued to build up its own stock of Irish whiskey in that time, which is accumulating value as each year passes.

Its latest accounts show the value of the distillery’s stock has increased by £2m per year in each of the past two financial years.

The latest accounts show the value increased from £5.5m in 2022 to £7.4m at the end of June last year.

The growing value of its spirit stock has helped Hinch narrow its liabilities, which fell from £9m in 2022 to £6.4m in the 2023 accounts.

The report states that the company continues to depend on the support of Dr Cross and his family as it builds up its growing portfolio of Irish whiskey products.

“The company meets its working capital requirements through financial support from its parent company and is dependent on this continuing support,” it states.

“Cross Family Group Holding Ltd, the parent company, has further agreed to support the company throughout the succeeding 12-month period.”

Dr Cross, who co-founded the Delta Print and Packaging company in Belfast in 1981, later sold the business to Finnish packaging giant Huhtamaki in 2016 in a deal worth around £80m.

Last the 73-year-old announced a £47m investment in a brand new packaging business in west Belfast.

Biopax is expected to create 169 jobs to the former Caterpillar site at Springvale Business Park by 2027.

The post Hinch Distillery records £2m loss as stock value soars appeared first on Licensed & Catering News (LCN) - News Coverage from the Local Trade.

The 1,000-year-old Irish oak tree, which had a 10-metre girth, used to stand tall on the grounds of Swainstown Farm in Kilmessan, Co Meath, until it was brought down by powerful Storm Elin last year. In a unique project, Meath’s Boann Distillery and the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel cooperage in Kildare will transform the oak into barrels.

The post Irish whiskey journey for ancient oak felled by storm appeared first on Licensed & Catering News (LCN) - News Coverage from the Local Trade.

Two of Northern Ireland’s biggest drinks companies have seen their profits fall as costs rise.

Operating costs at Diageo Northern Ireland jumped to £73m (up 25%0 while Tennent’s NI saw costs rise by 18% to £48.2m.

According to accounts filed at Companies House for Belfast-based Diageo Northern Ireland, for the year ending June 2023, pre-tax profits dropped by 65% to £2.4m.

A year earlier, the company had reported a surge of over 50% in pre-tax profits, but rising costs have reversed its fortunes, despite turnover increasing by 6% to £180m.

Beer sales for the company, which boasts a portfolio including brands such as Guinness, Harp and Smithwick’s, were strong in the year to June 2023, rising from £114.5m to £122.5m.

Last year it was announced that a pint of Guinness could go up by as much as 40p after the firm announced price increases for customers.

Diageo NI, which also has Baileys in its portfolio, saw spirits sales grow from £54.7m to £57.5m during the year. Employee numbers were up from 119 to 131 during the year, but wage costs were down from £7m to £6.6m.

Diageo NI’s employees are based across its three sites in the province — a beer packaging plant in east Belfast, its corporate headquarters in Belfast city centre and the Baileys global supply facility in Mallusk.

Last year it was also announced that Diageo had won planning permission for a £26m extension of its Baileys site.

The company said the approval would improve its logistics and warehousing facilities on the site, which produces over 60 million bottles of Baileys a year for export to 150 countries.

Diageo NI also revealed it would pump £24.5m into the regeneration of its east Belfast packaging facility.

The firm, which is overseen by Diageo Ireland managing director Barry O’Sullivan, declared a dividend of £6.5m during the year.

But directors’ remuneration, including pension contributions took a hit, dropping from £455,000 to £212,000.

Meanwhile, the salary of the highest paid director was also down from £310,000 to £126,000.

Tennent’s NI, which is behind the manufacturing and distribution of Tennent’s, Heverlee, Clonmel and Magners Irish Cider, was also affected by rising costs.

Despite turnover increasing by 16% to £61.5m during the year ending February 2023, the company saw pre-tax profits dip by 38% to £3.2m.

According to the accounts, which have just been published at Companies House, operating costs rose by 18% to £48.2m during the year.

But the business saw turnover from sales of beer and cider increase from £52.6m to £61.5m.

The post NI drinks firms see profits fall as costs soar appeared first on Licensed & Catering News (LCN) - News Coverage from the Local Trade.