Award-winning gin maker sold after administration

An award-winning North Yorkshire gin maker has been sold to a new owner after entering administration due to "rising costs and difficult trading conditions".

Spirit of Harrogate, which was behind the Slingsby Gin product range, entered administration on 18 March, with its business and assets "immediately sold to Brightside Spirits Ltd", Lewis Business Recovery and Insolvency said.

Administrators said the brand's shop in Harrogate had closed, but products would remain available online.

Joint Administrator Gareth Lewis said the sale had "saved some jobs" and would see the "continuation of the well-respected Slingsby Gin product range and brand".

Spirit of Harrogate, which was founded in Harrogate in 2014 by entrepreneurs Marcus Black and Mike Carthy, was inspired by the the story of William Slingsby, who is said to have discovered the "unique properties" of natural spring water in the spa town in 1571.

The gin products use water drawn from an underground aquifer in Harrogate and botanicals grown at the nearby Rudding Park Hotel, with the company's rhubarb gin awarded gold at the World Gin Awards in 2023.

In a statement regarding the sale, co-founders Black and Carthy, said: "We are pleased the brand will continue and that some of our colleagues will support the new owners in their future journey with Slingsby.

"We wish them all every success and are proud that Slingsby will still be available to its loyal and longstanding customers."

Chris Williams, director of Brightside Spirits Ltd, said: "When the opportunity arose to acquire the business out of administration, we knew we had a responsibility, not just to the product, but to the community that has championed it from the very beginning."

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