Digital bank OakNorth has provided a £7.5m loan to help transform a former World War II naval storage depot into Scotland’s largest independent whisky warehousing site.
Royal Elizabeth Yard, Queensferry
The 50-acre Royal Elizabeth Yard, Queensferry, less than seven miles from Edinburgh, has planning consent for the development of up to 830,000 sq ft of bonded warehousing, with the capacity to mature over 1.1m casks of whisky.
The site will also provide long-term storage, handling and compliance services.
The £7.5m loan from OakNorth will be used to refinance existing debt and support the conversion of several existing sheds into whisky maturation warehouses.
Alan Wright, head of operations at Royal Elizabeth Yard, said: “Demand for independent storage capacity remains strong and this facility gives us the flexibility to invest in the infrastructure required to support distillers and cask owners over the long term.”
Fraser McPhail, senior director of debt finance at OakNorth, added: “Royal Elizabeth Yard is a unique asset with a compelling long-term strategy, underpinned by strong fundamentals in the Scotch whisky sector.
“The site’s scale, location and extensive planning consents position it well to address the structural shortage of independent bonded warehousing capacity in Scotland.
“In addition to supporting the refurbishment of existing buildings, we have a strong appetite to support a consented new-build development over time, enabling Royal Elizabeth Yard to continue expanding its storage capacity.”
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