With its Crowdcube campaign set to close this weekend, UK-based distillery The Oxford Artisan Distillery (TOAD) has secured nearly 825,000 from more than 650 investors.
Launched this past summer, TOAD describes itself as a grain-to-glass distillery producing spirits from heritage grain in bespoke stills.has already achieved 85,000 in sales so far and it sells gin and rye vodka. The company claims it is the sole 25-year license with Oxford University and has launched two spirits in the market in the first three months, with further spirits in the pipeline.
“We have raised over £1m equity to date, to fund the development of our distillery near the centre of Oxford. We have generated great media including Countryfile, ITV News, Local BBC, and the Guardian. We have aggressive expansion plans. We are already stocked in 75 bars, restaurants and shops, achieving multiple repeat orders. We plan to utilise our board’s contacts to develop international sales. We are a visitor orientated business, with our tours getting rave reviews and creating enthusiastic advocates. c.50% of our sales are via our site or online.”
Also explaining other investments, the TOAD team stated:
“We have already raised over £1.26m (both equity and shareholder loan) to fund the launch and are now seeking support for the next phase. We plan to use the funds raised to build our new Visitor Centre (with restaurant and bar). We anticipate the development and fit-out costing £1 million, funded by crowdfunding and existing cash flow. The Oxford Artisan Distillery and TOAD are trading names and trademarks of Still On The Hill Ltd.”
Funds from the Crowdcube funding round will go towards continuing the Distillery’s growth and development. The campaign will close on Saturday.
