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.
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