Bushmills gets £10m cash injection

Bushmills Distillery is to receive a £10m (€14.5m) cash injection to develop its cream liqueur and other products.

Invest Northern Ireland confirmed it had also pledged 20% of the cash being invested in the north Antrim distillery.

The investment will enable the distillery to increase its production capacity by 30% through the purchase of new equipment and technology.

It will also secure the position of 125 employees at the plant.

Gill Jefferson, managing director of the Old Bushmills Distillery, said the investment would enable the company to develop higher added value product markets and facilitate new product development like the cream liqueur which was launched last year.

Leslie Morrison, chief executive of Invest NI, welcomed the move.

“Bushmills is one of the very few internationally recognised global brands originating in Northern Ireland and this investment is therefore a very significant development for the industry,” he said.

“It will have a direct impact on improving the company’s production capability and will strengthen the brand on a global basis.”

The investment follows a growth in Bushmills sales in international markets.

The Old Bushmills Distillery Company Limited has been a wholly owned subsidiary since 1977 of Irish Distillers Ltd, which is owned by the French Pernod Ricard Group which acquired it in 1988.

The distillery has a turnover of about €33m and profits of €6.2m.

In addition to the Bushmills range of whiskey products the company currently bottles other IDL products such as Jameson and Powers.