Gluten-free microbrewery raises expansion funds

The investment was led by the angel syndicate Equity Gap and was supported by Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise and existing shareholders.

The raise was supported by Rod Mathers, corporate finance partner and his team at Henderson Loggie Chartered Accountants and Jo Nisbet, associate and the corporate team at Harper Macleod.

Launched in March 2016 and based in Edinburgh, Bellfield Brewery has enjoyed several big contract wins as the free-from food and drink sector continues to expand with Mintel predicting the market to grow to £673 million by 2020 (Mintel 2016) and the “Global Gluten-Free Beer Market - Growth, Trends and Forecasts (2017 - 2022)” report suggesting that the global gluten-free beer market will grow at a CAGR of more than 13.5 per cent over the period 2017 to 2022.

Kerry Sharp, head of the Scottish Investment Bank, said: “Having supported Bellfield via our Financial Readiness service, it is great to see the business raising the funds required to implement its business plan. Food and drink is a key sector for Scottish Enterprise and we look forward to continuing to work with the company, both from an investment perspective and through our account management support, to deliver its long term growth ambition.”