From Irish whiskey to global technology: LYQD's EIIS round offers tax relief up to 35%
James Jardella, CEO of LYQD. The LYQD Exchange platform buyers and sellers and it gives both sides greater price discovery and transparency to make more informed decisions.
Buying or selling a cask of maturing Irish whiskey has historically been an opaque business, largely closed to anyone outside the trade.
Cork-based LYQD, Ireland’s first digital exchange for whiskey casks, was built to change that. Its platform brings together buyers and sellers, from wholesale trade between distilleries, brands and professional buyers to individuals looking to acquire, mature and sell casks as an alternative asset. It gives both sides greater price discovery and transparency to make more informed decisions.
The platform is now live and trading. LYQD has completed its first year, and it is supported by Enterprise Ireland’s High-Potential Start-Up (HPSU) programme after an exhaustive process.
“We have been scaling up the assets listed on our platform throughout the year, and saw a particularly strong sales month in September, while helping inventory and capital to flow between buyers and sellers,” says James Jardella, CEO of LYQD.
Jardella describes the company as a technology business first. “LYQD is brand and distillery agnostic,” he says. “Our role is to pair an age-old asset with modern technology to improve outcomes for people who are trading whiskey, be they distilleries, wholesalers or individual cask owners alike.”
The market it serves is large. An estimated 44 million casks worth €79 billion are stored for ageing worldwide, according to data shared by the various national trade bodies.
In Ireland, the LYQD Irish Whiskey Supply Report 2026 estimates 4.5 million casks maturing, roughly seven to nine years of Irish whiskey sales at current levels. Irish whiskey also has room to grow, representing only around 14% of Scotch whiskey sales globally.
“The good news is that the headroom for Irish whiskey is enormous, with markets like India, Southeast Asia and Latin America significantly underserved,” says Jardella.
He is candid about the risks for those privately trading in the asset: “While there is real opportunity, cask ownership is not risk-free, returns are never guaranteed and it’s important to buy well.”
Ireland, he says, is the starting point for LYQD rather than the destination. “Irish whiskey for us is a beachhead into a market we know well, and where we have great relationships with well-respected distilleries and brand owners in this space. As a way to hit scale, one of the priorities must be to look further afield, add to our capabilities and essentially export what we do in tech and services to other markets.”
The team has visited Scotland a number of times this year. “In addition to the Irish platform, we are working on technical innovations that don’t exist yet in the international market and are currently testing to bring on stream in 2027.”
That ambition underpins the company’s current raise through the Employment Investment Incentive Scheme (EIIS), which offers qualifying investors up to 35% income tax relief. Investors in the round can buy at the same share price the company had before it generated its first revenue.
“This is an opportunity for higher-rate taxpayers who are looking for an alternative to the stocks and bonds market,” explains Jardella. “By its definition, an EIIS investment has to be risk capital, but it is also the time when the opportunity for significant upside is at its greatest because investors are getting in at the ground floor of future success.
"As ordinary shareholders, investors in our company stand to benefit when we succeed, though returns are never guaranteed. By investing directly in ordinary shares, shareholders retain the full upside of ownership in LYQD, without fund or intermediary fees.”
Investors interested in LYQD’s EIIS round can register at eiis.lyqd.io to learn more and apply.
Investment in companies carries a risk of loss of capital. Tax relief is subject to conditions and holding periods and depends on individual circumstances. This article is not investment or tax advice; read the investor prospectus and seek independent advice before investing.
Visit the LYQD Exchange HERE
