Finance for brewing and distilling
Equipment that lasts decades, and stock that has to be paid for long before it can legally be sold. Two funding problems that need different answers.
Request a callback- Commonly funded
- Tanks, canning lines, casks
- Typical facilities
- Hire purchase, stock funding
- Lender focus
- Route to market and duty
This page describes what businesses in this sector typically fund and what lenders generally look for. It is not a recommendation, and what is available to you depends on your own circumstances.
About brewing & distilling
Brewing equipment is unusually durable. Stainless steel vessels, brewhouses and canning lines last for decades and hold value well, so they fund comfortably on hire purchase over terms that would be unthinkable for faster-moving equipment.
Stock is the harder half. Beer ties up cash for weeks and spirits for years, with duty payable on top, so a distillery in particular can be pouring money into casks long before any of it comes back. Funding maturing stock is a specialist exercise, and the lender panel for it is small but real.
What gets funded
- Brewhouses, fermentation and conditioning tanks, and cellar equipment.
- Canning and bottling lines, kegging equipment and labelling machinery.
- Stills, mash tuns, condensers and cask storage.
- Casks, kegs and returnable containers as a stock asset.
- Taproom fit-out, bar equipment and visitor facilities.
- Delivery vehicles and refrigerated transport.
What lenders assess
- Route to market — contracted supply to retail or wholesale is worth far more than hope.
- Duty position and how the business manages it through cash flow.
- Production capacity against actual sales, since idle capacity worries funders.
- For distillers, how maturing stock is valued, stored and insured.
- Whether the brand has genuine traction or is still finding its market.
Frequently asked
Can maturing spirit stock be funded?
Yes, but by a small number of specialists rather than the general market. They will want the stock properly stored, insured and independently valued, and advances are conservative against what it will eventually be worth.
Is second-hand brewing equipment fundable?
Very much so. Stainless vessels have long lives and an active resale market, so used brewing equipment is often an efficient way to add capacity. Funders will want to see it professionally inspected before completion.
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