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Headquartered in Edinburgh, The Artisanal Spirits Company plc is the holding company of the Group, whose principal operating subsidiary, SMWS, trades under the Group’s flagship brand, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

SMWS is the leading curator and provider of premium single cask Scotch malt whisky and other spirits for sale primarily online to a discerning global membership and has a presence in over 30 international markets including both the US and China.

The single cask, single malt Scotch whiskies sold by SMWS fall exclusively within the IWSR Ultra-Premium or higher retail sales price bands, and are available exclusively to members of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society with each release being limited in supply to the volume extracted from the source cask. Members benefit from exclusive access to whiskies carefully curated by an expert tasting panel.

SMWS releases regular batches of new whiskies throughout the year and hosts events for both members and non-members and also offers a range of other spirits such as single cask Bourbon, Indian whisky and Japanese whisky, as well as single cask Armagnac, Cognac, gin and rum.

Admission to Trading on AIM

On 4^th June 2021, admission and dealings commenced by way of an Issue of New Ordinary Shares in aggregate by way of an Institutional Placing, Member’s Offer and PrimaryBid Offer of 23,214,290 Ordinary Shares at an Offer Price of 112 pence per share.

Reasons for Admission and use of proceeds of the Fundraising

The Directors believe that Admission represents an important step in the Group’s development and will

assist in achieving its ambitions for future profitable growth.

In particular, the Directors are of the opinion that there are material potential benefits for SMWS’ subscription based membership model, including the potential to accelerate member recruitment, arising from the enhanced public profile attaching to a public markets listing. The Directors also consider that quoted status will facilitate the recruitment and retention of additional executive talent to fulfil the Group’s growth plans and will enable the Company, if required, to access the capital markets to support its future growth.

The Company will receive approximately £13.2 million in net proceeds from the Fundraising. The net

proceeds from the Fundraising, together with the Group’s existing long term debt facilities, will provide the capital resources with which to finance the Directors’ strategic development plan for the Group over the next two to three years, within the following broad categories of spend:

• £8-10 million for further investment in whisky and other spirits stock, and in cask wood, including the implementation of a planned sherry cask maturation programme;
• £6-8 million to promote membership and business growth including membership recruitment, retention and engagement; selective investment in existing and new venues where the Directors identify that appropriate returns can be achieved; and investment in brand and digital development; and
• £2 million for capital investment in supply chain optimisation to reduce costs and improve operating efficiency.

The Perivan shareholder communications team were delighted to work with N+1 Singer Capital Markets who were appointed Nominated Adviser, Sole Broker and Sole Bookrunner to The Artisanal Spirits Company on the successful publication of the 137-page admission document.

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