Even seven years ago, alternative asset classes like whisky didn’t hold the cachet they do today. However, Li Hua Tan and other intrepid investors spotted the spirit long before today’s liquid gold rush. Platinum Whisky Investment Fund, of which Tan was a general partner, wound down last September, delivering an annualised return of 17 per cent. Established in June 2014,.
Scottish auction firm Whisky Hammer drinks to multi-million pound deal with Hong Kong investor
L to R: Brothers Craig and Daniel Milne., founders of Whisky Hammer.
An online whisky auction site and tasting rooms in Udny has teamed up with a Hong Kong-based investor in a multi-million pound deal.
Launched by Macduff-born brothers Daniel and Craig Milne, Whisky Hammer hosts monthly auctions of rare and often very expensive spirits to buyers around the globe.
The group offers a trading platform to an extensive global network of whisky enthusiasts who buy and sell via the brothers’ regular auctions.
The company has sold a wide range of whiskies, both bottles and casks, with auctions selling in excess of £1million under the hammer each month and resulting in a 70% growth in revenue in 2020.
Craig (left) and Daniel Milne have retained a majority 51% stake in the online auction business they set up five years ago By Kristy Dorsey Shareholders who backed a £200,000 crowdfunding campaign by Whisky Hammer have been bought out in a multi-million-pound deal that sees Hong Kong’s Rare Whisky Holdings take a 49 per cent stake in the Scottish online auction site. According to Daniel Milne, who set up Whisky Hammer in 2016 with his brother Craig, the agreement creates a “clean” ownership structure going forward and paves the way for global expansion following revenue growth of 70% last year. Retail investors who participated in the 2019 Crowdcube fundraising – proceeds of which were used to help pay for a new purpose-built facility in Aberdeenshire – received a 2.6x return on their investment.