A MAJOR Scottish whisky firm has slammed the “unfairness” of the current UK duty policy after it reported a drop in profits last year.
The boss behind Loch Lomond Group, an independent distiller based in the Highlands and whose brands include Glen Scotia, has called on the UK Government to stop paying “lip service” to the industry and back it “to the hilt” with “concrete supportive actions,” according to The Herald.
The firm reported a drop in underlying profits to £23.7 million from £29.4m the previous year, with turnover decreasing to £105m from £118m, for the year ending December 31.
Loch Lomond Group chief executive officer Colin Matthews attributed the slump in profits to consumers around the world still remaining cautious, as importers and wholesalers are also yet to restore their full confidence in the supply chain following the Covid pandemic.
Matthews said the challenges facing the industry have been exacerbated due to import tariffs to the US imposed by Donald Trump and UK spirits duty, which the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) said has risen by 14% in two years.
“Scotch whisky is a jewel in the UK’s crown and should be supported, encouraged and helped to become a bigger jewel rather than punished and taxed unfairly for its success,” the Loch Lomond Group boss said.
Keir Starmer previously said he would back “Scotch producers to the hilt” during the run-up to the 2024 General Election.
The Prime Minister said he was “determined” to reach a deal on US whisky tariffs when Trump was in the UK last month for his unprecedented second state visit, but negotiations are ongoing.
However, the SWA has said around 1000 jobs have been lost in the Scottish whisky industry since the last Budget and has called for a multi-year freeze on spirits duty.
Matthews has now called on the UK Government to back the industry through “these challenging times”, amid speculation that a further tax rise may be included in Chancellor Rachel Reeves's Autumn Budget.
The Loch Lomond Group boss said the sector has made it clear to the UK Government that it needs its “support, backed with its real and concrete supportive actions and not the lip service and false promises we have had from it until now”.
Matthews said that his firm will continue to invest “as appropriate in our brands, our people and our infrastructure – the things that will ensure our business remains strongly positioned as the market improves”.
He added: “However, in the meantime, it has been necessary to balance this with careful and sensible management of costs, which we have done successfully.”
Matthews continued: “We, along with all of our colleagues across our great industry, now call on the UK Government to follow through on the Prime Minister’s promise to ‘back Scotch producers to the hilt’ both in the upcoming budget and in its ongoing discussions with trading partners around the world.”
