THE brothers behind Valentian Vermouth are nearing a £100,000 crowdfunding campaign target in just a week.

David and Dominic Tait, who founded Tait Bros. in 2019, are calling for investors to help raise the money to build a "centre for vermouth excellence" and sales operation in the Scottish Borders.

The Crowdcube campaign, which launched privately last week and to the public today, has already raised more than £80,000.

The fully-licensed facility, which will include an ‘experimentation studio’, bar and tasting room, will also serve as a brand home for Valentian Vermouth. 

Tait Bros. plans significant expansion following completion of the crowdfunding campaign, with investment in a sales team and up to eight new employees to help run the centre for excellence. 

The launch of the crowdfunding campaign arrives at an exciting time for Valentian Vermouth, which this year added some of the best-known names in Scottish hospitality to its impressive list of stockists including Montpeliers and Indigo Yard in Edinburgh, and Glasgow’s Bar Vini and Eusebi’s ­– where it features in the famous house Negroni. 

New products are also in the pipeline, including Valentian Vermouth Bianco and Valentian Vermouth Secco.

The firm is working with partners including South of Scotland Enterprise on the exciting centre for excellence and tasting room project. 

The crowdfunding campaign – through Crowdcube – enables investors to own part of the award-winning Scottish Borders-based Tait Bros., makers of Valentian Vermouth Rosso, a super-premium vermouth marrying Scottish new make malt spirit, Italian white wine and botanicals cultivated in both countries.

Dominic, 33, who manages Tait Bros. operations, said: “This is a massively exciting development for Valentian Vermouth and undoubtedly the biggest step on our journey so far. We want people to join our family business and come with us for the ride.”

Co-founder David, 35, said: “We’ve enjoyed our success through strong wholesale backing, with three regional wholesalers and one national UK wholesaler, and have developed an online platform which enables us to sell direct to consumers."

Marc Crothall: Tourism’s journey is only just beginning

The Herald: Marc, Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance.Marc, Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance. (Image: STA)

OPINION: May has been a “stop/start” of a month in terms of forward movement, with so much being thrown up in the air and a great deal hanging in the balance.

READ MORE: The Scottish Parliamentary Elections, Glasgow and Moray being held back in Level Three while on the cusp of reopening, the brief appearance of sunshine followed by an almost biblical deluge of rain (every day…) and, more recently, the anxious conversations across Scotland’s tourism industry around the Cabinet reshuffle as we waited to hear news of where tourism would sit, and with whom.

Clyde waste-to-hydrogen facility plan unveiled​

The Herald: The hydrogen will be used as a clean fuel for buses, cars and HGVs, with plans for a linked hydrogen refuelling station on the site. The hydrogen will be used as a clean fuel for buses, cars and HGVs, with plans for a linked hydrogen refuelling station on the site.

PEEL NRE, part of Peel L&P, is planning to develop a waste plastic to hydrogen facility in Scotland.

READ MORE: The £20m facility, at Rothesay Dock on the north bank of the River Clyde, West Dunbartonshire, will take non-recyclable plastics, destined for landfill, incineration or export overseas, and use them to create a local source of sustainable hydrogen.

Sign up

You can now have the new enhanced Business Briefing with the top business news stories sent direct to your email inbox, and Business Week for the weekly round-up on Sunday, by clicking below:

The Herald: Herald Newsletter daily banner