Scottish micro-brewery Bellfield is aiming to raise £500,000 through a funding drive, after what it has described as a successful first year of trading.
Based in Edinburgh, Bellfield has billed itself as the UK’s first dedicated gluten-free micro brewery. It is hoping to raise the cash through a combination of equity, grants and loans, to fund expansion.
The money will be used to employ the existing operational team on a full-time bases, strengthen sales and management teams, and recruit new account managers to help grow the brand in the UK and internationally. New recipes and packaging formats, such as cans, are also planned.
Brewer and head of business development Kieran Middleton, said: 'There is considerable demand for our products, and [we’ve] delivered on our ambition to produce beer that stands up to anything in the market.
'Having also secured distribution agreements with the leading food and drink distributors and wholesalers in the UK we now need to capitalise on this opportunity by growing the sales and operational team and extending our range of beers.”
The brewer raised £180,000 in 2015 through the crowdfunding platform, Crowdcube. A number of the larger investors from this initial round are already committed to further investment, it said.
The raise is being supported by the Corporate Finance team at Henderson Loggie Chartered Accountants and legal advisers, Harper Macleod.