We're an independent accelerator partnering with entrepreneurs who want to grow their spirit brands with investment that keeps them in control. We support founders in scaling their drinks brands independently.
Learn more about us and the business here.
What we do
We arrange capital investment from Diageo for a wide range of non-alcoholic and alcoholic companies in the beverage space. We help businesses that are growing fast as well as those that are just starting out. To date, our investments range from £250k to a company in The Pre Accelerator, to over £10 million to fundamentally transform a whiskey business and everything in between.
How does the deal work?
Each deal is unique and tailored to each company's requirements and rate of growth. From the get-go, we work closely with founders to develop a business plan and work out what investment might be needed to achieve it. Regardless of the size of investment, Diageo remains a minority investor so that founders stay entirely in control as the business scales.
Investments are made on the basis that - if all goes well - Diageo continues to meet future funding requirements through to a pre-agreed point where they might be interested in acquiring the business. All deals include a call option for Diageo to buy the company outright at a pre-agreed future point.
Our Process
Once the first investment is made, Distill Ventures works closely with the founders to build a plan that will drive sustainable growth.
We work with our clients on a strategic business development plan, giving them access to our expertise in the industry. Each brand has a DV partner with the entrepreneurial skill you’ll need in the beverage industry, and a dedication to your growth. We commit to supporting you through consulting, strategy, marketing and branding.
We also help spirits brands raise the growth capital they need, whether a startup or a scale-up. Our extensive network of beverage investors will help secure the funds and private equity our partners need.
Partnering with Diageo
One of the benefits of working with Diageo is that they're uniquely placed to understand opportunities within the global drinks and beverage space and are equally happy funding venture capital and stock investment as brand-building, marketing activity and global expansion.