Finns det över huvud taget någonting positivt med detta?
Nyrika ryssar, inspirerade av Roman Abramovic som köpte Chelsea FC, planerar köp av destilleri i Skottland. Ett ökat intresse för whisky i Ryssland har fått dem att börja blicka mot Skottland. Vilket destilleri som är intressant är fortfarande oklart. Källa: The Herald.
När Roman köpte Chelsea hade han ju sikte på lite guld och han fick det också. Visserligen skulle han köpt LFC istället så vi kan få vår storhetstid tillbaka då Dalglish, Rush och pågarna regerade i Europa.
Har "whiskyryssen" samma mål?
Det finns en hel del destillerier som ägs mer eller mindre av icke-skottar så en ryss mer gör nog inget.
Bytar man vinkel och kollar istället på hur många av de lite mindre och okända destillerierna som rullat på utan en stor kapitalstark koncern bakom sig.
Förhoppningsvis blir det några destillerier över för mer seriösa intressenter:
Bruichladdich goes on the whisky trail for distilleries
IAIN DEY
CITY EDITOR
THE chief executive of the Bruichladdich distillery on Islay has approached Patrick Ricard regarding a possible bid for some of the smaller distilleries that are changing hands with the £7.4bn takeover of Allied Domecq.
Mark Reynier has registered an interest in the Glendronach and Scapa distilleries - which are passing into Pernod Ricard hands through the joint bid with Fortune Brands of the US.
News of the approach came as Reynier revealed that Bruichladdich has broken into the black for the first time since leading the £7m buyout from Fortune Brands four years ago. The move to profitability comes one year earlier than projected.
Reynier told Scotland on Sunday: "I am in contact with the chairman of Pernod Ricard, just in case he decides he wants to sell on some of these distilleries. Glendronach and Scapa are both very appealing. I can?t believe that Pernod wants to keep all these extra distilleries it has acquired - after all they did close four following the Seagram deal."
He added: "I?m not looking for acquisitions for the sake of it. I?ve got enough on my plate with Bruichladdich, and there?s a lot more that we have left to do. But Scapa and Glendronach are potentially attractive opportunities - and you never know unless you ask."
The joint Pernod and Fortune bid for Allied has been agreed with the board, but could still be trumped if a new bid appears. Some members of the Bacardi family are believed to be agitating for the rum group to table an offer, but analysts believe it to be unlikely.
Bruichladdich clocked up a profit of just over £200,000 last year, compared with losses of £345,000 in 2003. Sales jumped 40% to £4.5m, with the firm shipping around 18,000 cases in total.
Reynier said: "Everyone said we couldn?t do it. The whole industry was poo-pooing us, saying ?who?s this guy from London who thinks he can run a distillery??
"I?m absolutely delighted to be able to show everyone that we have done it and to stick two fingers up at the doubters."
Although Bruichladdich is tiny in the context of the consolidating global drinks industry, Reynier has proved that he has access to capital.
The original buyout was backed by Bank of Scotland, but also came with the support of Bruno Schroder, of the Schroder banking dynasty, who owns an estate in Argyll, and Sir John McTaggart of the Scottish building empire - making acquisitions a possibility.
Reynier expects sales growth to slow to about 10% this year due to continued uncertainty in the global economy, and the strength of the pound. But he is also investing in a second bottling hall at the Islay site.
