Work starts on multi-million-pound project to create Inverclyde 'cathedral of whisky'

Fife-based Muir Construction has been hired to start work on an ambitious £20 million-plus project to create a “cathedral of whisky” on Inverclyde.

Alan Baker, director Ardgowan Distillery; Alan Muir, joint managing director, Muir Construction; Roland Grain, investment director, Ardgowan Distillery; David Fairweather, business development director; Martin McAdam, CEO Ardgowan Distillery; Stephen Caughey, construction project manager, Ardgowan Distillery. Picture by Peter Sandground

The £7m contract is expected to last 12 months and will see the completion of Ardgowan Distillery’s main production elements, enabling the firm to begin producing its own spirit from 2024. The initial build phase marks the culmination of almost seven years’ planning for the distillery founders, who are looking to create an “energy efficient distillery and visitor experience”, which will generate more than 40 jobs and produce up to a million litres of premium whisky per year.

Chief executive Martin McAdam said: “Partnering with Muir Construction for this first phase of the build is a major and very welcome step forward for us. Muir’s experience constructing some of the finest Scotch whisky distilleries open today, coupled with their hand in pioneering Scottish sustainability projects meant they were the perfect fit.”

Inverkeithing-based Muir Construction, part of Muir Group, has previously worked with a number of major distillery businesses, including William Grant & Sons and Glenmorangie. It has also worked on several key sustainability projects, including the Queens Quay Energy Centre in Glasgow and Celtic Renewables.

Alan Muir, joint managing director at Muir Construction, said: “Not only will this be at the forefront of distilling fine whisky, but it will also be an outstanding statement in visual design, something I’m sure we will all be proud of on completion. Our construction team is very excited to get started on the first step in what we are sure will be an excellent ongoing relationship.”

To date, a total funding package of £24m has been secured for the project, with the distillery recently raising in excess of £3.6m via a convertible loan note to shareholders. The distillery design uses low environmental impact composite cladding, timber and steel materials to create a modern Nordic long hall, symbolising resurrection and rising from the ashes of the former Ardgowan Distillery in Greenock, which was bombed during the Blitz. The distillery has also partnered with Heriot-Watt University and Briggs of Burton to develop technology to capture all of the CO2 in its fermentation process and transform it into green biomethane.

Distillery venture and Heriot-Watt team up to 'repurpose and reuse' CO2