A north brewer is getting ready to increase its exports to America after receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds in funding.
HSBC will provide WooHa Brewing Company with £700,000 which will allow the firm to upgrade its facilities by buying a 6.2acre farm in Kinloss.
It will also lead to the creation of four jobs.
The firm, which began trading in April 2015, has been exporting to America since January and is anticipating that, as a result of the funding, the amount of beer the company is able to brew will increase five-fold .
As a result WooHa is forecasting that 80% of its revenue next year will be via exports, focusing on dramatically increasing supply to the US market.
Founder and owner of WooHa Brewing, Heather McDonald, said she has always had a passion for craft beer and, after studying microbiology, saw an opportunity to use her skills and knowledge of the market to create a different and modern craft beer product.
Ms McDonald said: “We have seen an increased demand from the American market for our Scottish beer, so much so that we forecast that next year, 80% of our business will be from exports, with the US the main market.
“The financial support from HSBC has been vital in helping us realise our ambition to purchase a new manufacturing site to continue our global expansion. In addition to the funding, HSBC has been fantastic in helping us overcome exporting difficulties.
“Being a global bank, they were the ideal partner for us.”
Susan Rowand, HSBC head of business banking in Scotland, added: “We’re seeing an increase in demand for Scottish food and drink products abroad and the USA, in particular, offers a huge opportunity.
“It’s encouraging to see an authentic Scottish business achieve its growth ambitions. We’re proud to support WooHa Brewing with both funding and expertise which will help the business flourish.”
The finance was allocated from HSBC’s national £10billion SME fund to actively support UK SMEs.
£500million of the fund is specifically designated to support firms in Scotland.