Council welcomes major investment in Highland distilleries

The Highland Council has warmly welcomed today’s announcement by Diageo, the world’s leading premium drinks business, that they intend to develop a £30million expansion of their Clynelish Distillery in Brora, Sutherland.

Diageo say the Clynelish expansion will take their on-going capital investment in the Council region to almost £150million, including major expansions at Glen Ord and Teaninich Distilleries and plans to build a new distillery at Alness.

The Clynelish announcement came as six new copper stills were delivered to the Glen Ord Distillery as part of the £25million expansion plan which is doubling the size of that distillery to over 10million litres per annum. Diageo is also doubling the capacity at the Teaninich Distillery in Alness and is progressing plans to build a new malt whisky distillery and renewable energy plant on land adjacent to Teaninich. In total these projects represent a capital investment of nearly £150million across the Highland Council area.

As part of the planning process Diageo will hold a community engagement session in February to share further details of the Clynelish proposals with the local community.
Council Leader Drew Hendry said: “This is great news for the Highlands and demonstrates that we are open for business and a great place for big players in world markets to invest.”

Councillor Deirdre Mackay, Leader of the Council’s Caithness and Sutherland Area Committee, added: “Diageo are now major employers in the Highlands and their confidence in investing in our area is great for the Highland economy.”