Is Sipsmith preparing to sell?

The owners of London distillery Sipsmith are rumoured to be looking to sell up, having reportedly hired consultants at a financial advisory group to guide talks with potential buyers.

The Sipsmith team

According to a report by Bloomberg, Sipsmith has called in advisers at Rothschild & Co. to steer sale talks and “may reach an agreement with a buyer by the end of the year”.

Founded as a micro-distillery in a small garage in Hammersmith in 2009, Sipsmith was at the time the first copper distillery to have opened in London for nearly two hundred years.

Since then it has grown considerably to become one of the UK’s leading craft distillers, and is known for its experimental and small batch gins. Its range now comprises London Dry Gin, Lemon Drizzle Gin, London Cup, Sloe Gin, VJOP gin and Sipping Vodka, which it exports to around 20 global markets.

Two years ago, in 2014, Sipsmith moved to a larger site in west London, and expanded its operation with the addition of a third copper still and education facility. The facility on Cranbrook Road in Chiswick also runs popular gin tasting and distillery tours.

Sipsmith was one of the early distillers to capitalise on the then rising gin boom, which has seen hundreds of craft distillers spring up in the UK in the past few years.

Such has been the success of the category, that the WSTA hailed 2016 as the “Year of Gin”. This October the trade body reported that exports of gin had grown 166% by value since 2000 and today represent 11% of all spirits exports from the UK.

Domestically sales passed the £1 billion mark in October and strong sales have continued as the year comes to a close.

Sipsmith has so far declined to comment on speculation raised by Bloomberg.