EDRINGTON’S decision to sell Glenturret and Cutty Sark, two Scotch whisky brands with significant clout, came as something of a surprise.
Then again, Glasgow-based Edrington’s chief executive, Ian Curle, has over the years talked a fair bit about focus.
And Edrington, revealing its plans to sell Glenturret and Cutty Sark, highlighted its £500 million investment in The Macallan, which is enjoying solid growth in key Scotch whisky markets such as Taiwan, the US, and Japan. It also flagged an “exceptional year” for its Highland Park single malt, which achieved 15 per cent sales growth.
The fact Edrington feels able to sell Glenturret and Cutty Sark perhaps highlights the strength of the brands it is retaining. That said, Glenturret and Cutty Sark too are powerful brands, and, with the right buyer, can hopefully enjoy great future success. Finding the right buyer will be important, from the perspective of the broader Scotch sector.
Glenturret’s 31 employees at Crieff in Perthshire will also be hoping the venerable distillery goes to a good home.
While they will have to wait until the sale process is concluded to find out the identity of the distillery’s new owner, at least Edrington has emphasised that all are expected to transfer over to the ultimate buyer.
Edrington has also moved to reassure employees at its bottling plant in Glasgow that there will be no compulsory redundancies as a result of Cutty Sark’s sale.
Such a responsible approach to reassuring employees is commendable. It is just a pity more companies would not follow suit in similar circumstances.
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