Latest news with #GreatNorthernDistillery
Irish Times
07-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Dispute between whiskey firms settled, court told
A dispute over a contract to supply whiskey from the John Teeling -founded Great Northern Distillery (GND) to a wholesaler and its associated distribution company has been settled, the Commercial Court heard. Dundalk-based wholesaler O'Malley Ireland Spirits Trading Ltd and its related distributor Nonto DAC had brought proceedings against GreatNorthern Distillery Ltd (GND) which operates a whiskey distillery in Dundalk. O'Malley and Nonto claimed they purchased some €60 million in whiskey from GND for around five years. GND, both directly and through third parties, operates several 'bonded' warehouses which are regulated by Customs and Revenue and which store the product with excise duty suspended until such time as it exits the 'bonded chain'. READ MORE O'Malley and Noto sought court declarations including that it has title to whiskey purchased by O'Malley for the first three-quarters of 2024. They also sought a declaration that having paid in full for those periods that the defendant has no entitlement to exercise a €6.4 million lien over the whiskey for fourth quarter warehousing and transport costs. They also sought an injunction directing the defendant to provide access to its warehouses for the purpose of taking possession of the first three quarters' whiskey. GND disputed the claims. On Monday, Mr Justice Michael Twomey was told there was no appearances for the parties as the case had been settled and struck out.
BreakingNews.ie
07-07-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
€60m whiskey contract dispute between firms settled in Commercial Court
A dispute over a contract to supply whiskey from the John Teeling-founded Great Northern Distillery to a wholesaler and its associated distribution company has been settled, the Commercial Court heard. Dundalk-based wholesaler O'Malley Ireland Spirits Trading Ltd and its related distributor Nonto DAC had brought proceedings against Great Northern Distillery Ltd (GND) which operates a whiskey distillery in Dundalk. Advertisement O'Malley and Nonto claimed they purchased some €60 million in whiskey from GND for around five years. GND, both directly and through third parties, operates several "bonded" warehouses which are regulated by Customs and Revenue and which store the product with excise duty suspended until such time as it exits the "bonded chain". O'Malley and Noto sought court declarations including that it has title to whiskey purchased by O'Malley for the first three-quarters of 2024. Ireland Man (32) jailed after being caught with €400k of c... Read More They also sought a declaration that having paid in full for those periods that the defendant has no entitlement to exercise a €6.4 million lien over the whiskey for fourth quarter warehousing and transport costs. They also sought an injunction directing the defendant to provide access to its warehouses for the purpose of taking possession of the first three quarters' whiskey. GND disputed the claims. On Monday, the case was listed before Mr Justice Michael Twomey was told there was no appearances for the parties as the case had been settled and struck out.
Irish Times
18-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Is Irish whiskey on the rocks?
The boom appeared to be very much back for the Irish whiskey business. In the aftermath of the pandemic, consumer demand went through the roof, prompting an explosion in new distilleries – suddenly supply chased demand. 'We were guilty of – hubris is a great word – but of getting caught up in the euphoria that took place in '23,' the founder of Great Northern Distillery John Teeling said recently. 'We expanded our production up to 20 million litres a year – that was about 1.25 million to 1.5 million bottles a week. That's a lot of whiskey . . . and we made plans to double it. We did all kinds of crazy things.' They certainly weren't the only ones in the Irish whiskey industry to get caught up in the euphoria of booming post-Covid demand. The surge in the number of distillers is impressive, from just four in 2010 to somewhere north of 50 today – even Ibec's Irish Whiskey Association couldn't give an exact number when asked this week. READ MORE The big problem for the small-scale producers who flooded into the market during the pandemic is timing. Whiskey isn't gin. You can't found a brand and start selling a month later. Those that came into existence during the pandemic would be reaching the end of the three-year period in which their product is mandated to sit in wooden barrels, often expensively imported oak, to qualify as Irish whiskey. This lead time, with rising electricity prices and interest rates, is expensive. [ Irish whiskey is undergoing a market correction, a temporary blip, a 'little pause' Opens in new window ] In theory, that previously-clear distilled alcohol has now become liquid gold, perfect to erase the debt required to fund its production. In reality it is now hard to shift and expensive to store – leaving debts mounting. The result is small distilleries that will be forced to take a hit on already-thin profit margins, hundreds of staff unsure of their future and a long-awaited pay-off, when it comes, that will struggle to refill the coffers. Ireland's whiskey industry is in trouble, it might not be on the rocks just yet, but it is veering dangerously close. While nobody could doubt the spirit of producers, the viability of more than 50 distilleries is less certain.
Irish Independent
13-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Dispute over €60m whiskey contract admitted to fast-track court
Dundalk-based wholesaler O'Malley Ireland Spirits Trading Ltd and its related distributor Nonto DAC have brought proceedings against Great Northern Distillery Ltd (GND) which operates a whiskey distillery in Dundalk. O'Malley and Nonto claim they have purchased some €60m in whiskey from GND for around five years. GND, both directly and through third parties, operates several 'bonded' warehouses which are regulated by Customs and Revenue and which store the product with excise duty suspended until such time as it exits the 'bonded chain'. The plaintiff companies seek declarations from the court including that they have title to whiskey purchased by O'Malley for the first three-quarters of 2024. They also seek a declaration that having paid in full for those periods, the defendant has no entitlement to exercise a €6.4m lien over the whiskey for fourth-quarter warehousing and transport costs. They also seek an injunction directing the defendant to provide access to its warehouses for the purpose of taking possession of the first three quarters' whiskey. GND disputes the claims. Yesterday, Mr Justice Mark Sanfey admitted the case to the Commercial Court following an application from Bernard Dunleavy SC, for the plaintiffs, and on consent of Michael Howard SC, for the defendant. The judge said the injunction application could be heard next month. Great Northern Distillery was established in 2015. The Dundalk-based distillery makes whiskeys for customers under contract, supplying bulk private labels and retailers' own-label products. It can distil about 1.25 million bottles of whiskey a week and supplies more than 300 customers who sell its products around the world. John Teeling, the well-known entrepreneur, launched the business after he sold his family's Cooley Distillery to US drinks maker Beam in 2011 for €71m. Beam was subsequently bought in 2014 by Japan's Suntory. Great Northern Distillery is majority-owned by the Teeling family. Two of John Teeling's sons, Jack and Stephen, also launched the separate Teeling Whiskey brand and distillery, which is now majority owned by Bacardi.
Irish Times
12-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Dispute between whiskey wholesalers and distillery admitted to Commercial Court
A dispute over a contract to supply whiskey from the John Teeling founded Great Northern Distillery to a wholesaler and its associated distribution company has been admitted to the fast track Commercial Court list. Dundalk-based wholesaler O'Malley Ireland Spirits Trading Ltd and its related distributor Nonto DAC have brought proceedings against Great Northern Distillery Ltd (GND) which operates a whiskey distillery in Dundalk. O'Malley and Nonto claim they have purchased some €60 million in whiskey from GND for around five years. GND, both directly and through third parties, operates several 'bonded' warehouses which are regulated by Customs and Revenue and which store the product with excise duty suspended until such time as it exits the 'bonded chain'. READ MORE The plaintiff companies seek declarations from the court including that it has title to whiskey purchased by O'Malley for the first three-quarters of 2024. They also seek a declaration that having paid in full for those periods that the defendant has no entitlement to exercise a €6.4 million lien over the whiskey for fourth quarter warehousing and transport costs. They also seek an injunction directing the defendant to provide access to its warehouses for the purpose of taking possession of the first three quarters' whiskey. GND dispute the claims. On Monday, Mr Justice Mark Sanfey admitted the case to the Commercial Court following an application from Bernard Dunleavy SC, for the plaintiffs, and on consent of Michael Howard SC, for the defendant. The judge said the injunction application could be heard next month.
