A potential new owner has been found for a gin distillery which was forced into administration.
Administrators for Leicestershire-based Burleighs Gin say they are in talks with a possible new owner to take on the business and hope a deal will be concluded by Christmas.
Business advisory specialist Begbies Traynor was brought in as administrators for Burleighs last week following a winding up petition from HMRC. Its website stopped taking drinks orders several weeks ago citing “unforeseen circumstances”.
Burleighs had made an impact on the regional drinks scene since it was set up at Bawdon Lodge Farm, in the Charnwood Forest, near Loughborough 2014. It produced gins branded with Leicester City Football Club, Leicester Tigers and the King Richard III foundation, alongside its own Signature London Dry Gin, Distiller’s Cut and Pink Edition.
Back in 2021 Burleighs announced it had received £250,000 of investment from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), to help it take on five full-time staff and expand its market.
In 2020, a crowdfund campaign was heavily oversubscribed, bringing in £130,000 from 260 investors who gained a 5.25 per cent stake in the business. The campaign valued the business at £2.3 million.
Begbies Traynor told BusinessLive that David Elliott and Bai Cham, of its Medway office, were appointed as joint administrators on December 5.
Insolvency practitioner David Elliott said: “After reviewing the company’s financial position, the directors of Burleighs concluded that a successful resolution to a very long-standing debt could not be reached.
“As such, one of the secured lenders had no other option but to move the business into administration so that a successful outcome could be reached for as many stakeholders as possible.
“Following the appointment, Begbies has successfully marketed the business for sale and a preferred bidder has been selected.
“It is hoped that a successful conclusion to the sale process will be reached by Christmas with the business starting the New Year under new and supportive ownership.”
