Growthdeck closes a £570k fundraise for ready-made premium cocktail maker
Private equity investment firm Growthdeck has closed a £570k fundraise for Soho Street Cocktails, the ready-made premium cocktail maker.
Soho Street Cocktails sells pre-mixed, bar-quality cocktail pouches, allowing bars and restaurants to reduce service time, improve serve consistency and make industry leading margins.
The funds raised through Growthdeck will fund Soho Street Cocktails’ core strategy of growing sales in bars and restaurants and through retailers. It will be used to increase its production.
One of the largest UK distributors to independent bars and restaurants, and a network of independent on-trade wholesalers, have recently agreed to list the product to their customers.
Soho Street Cocktails is also in discussion with several major supermarkets. By 2024 Soho Street Cocktails expects its pouches to be available in more than 500 retail outlets and over 1,100 licensed premises.
Although the company has only recently started to roll out its products, it has already sold them to leading restaurants, pub and bar groups, and independent retailers, with a 100% success rate in sales following a demonstration of the product.
The company is led by CEO Paul Scarratt, who co-founded the business after 27 years in the drinks industry. Previously, Scarratt held senior executive roles at two of the UK’s most successful drinks distributors, Matthew Clark and Bibendum Wine.
The global ready-to-drink cocktail market is a rapidly growing market and is forecast to grow 12.1% a year. The sector was valued at $715m in 2020 and is set to be worth $1.6bn by 2027. The significant factor driving this market growth is the premiumisation of cocktails, with customers demanding high quality from ready-to-drink versions.
Steve Talbot, investment director at Growthdeck, says: “We’re thrilled to support Soho Street Cocktails and their innovative products which can make a genuine impact on margins for bars and restaurants as the industry bounces back.”
“Soho Street’s cocktails are as good as freshly-made versions and help to cut serve time significantly. As pubs and bars reach capacity, these products can help the industry increase its margins and improve the customers’ experience. We are looking forward to joining Paul and the team on their exciting journey.”
Growthdeck’s equity investment in Soho Street Cocktails qualifies for tax reliefs under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). EIS is an investment scheme which allows private investors to make tax savings by investing in growth businesses. The EIS allows investors to:
- Invest up to £1m per annum
- Reclaim 30% of the cost of investment against their income tax bill
- Not pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on any gains realised after three years
- Claim further income tax relief should an investment result in any form of loss
- Defer capital gains tax due on the sale of another asset by re-investing the gain in an EIS-qualifying company
- Save inheritance tax on any EIS-qualifying shares held for over two years