Nant whisky distillery in new hands after purchase by Australian Whisky Holdings Limited

TASMANIAN whisky distillery Nant has been bought by a private equity group that also has interests in two other Tasmanian distilleries.

Australian Whisky Holdings Limited has agreed to buy the Nant Distillery business and the historic estate at Bothwell.

TASMANIAN whisky distillery Nant has been bought by a private equity group.

Australian Whisky Holdings Limited has signed an agreement with the Nant Group to buy the Nant Distillery business and historic Nant Estate property for $3 million.

Bottles of Nant whisky.

The company will take on $5.5 million worth of Nant debts and liabilities, after due diligence.

It has bought all the whisky production assets but not the bars and hotel in Hobart, Melbourne and Brisbane associated with Nant.

AWY owns a 31.66 per cent share of another Tasmanian whisky company, Lark Distillery – which owns outright the Overeem Distillery – and a 12 per cent share of the Redlands Estate whisky distillery.

Tasmanian Whisky industry founder Bill Lark said he was unaware of the negotiations over the sale of Nant but said “it can only be a positive thing for the industry in Tasmania”.

Bill McHenry, owner of McHenry Distillery on the Tasman Peninsula, said the sale showed “a continued optimism for the craft of distilling in Tasmania”.

The Nant Group, founded by Keith Batt, is made up of Nant Estate, Nant Distilling Company, Nant Distillery, Nant Barrel Holdings and Nant Administration.

It owns the production and sale of whisky and the land located at 254 Nant Lane, Bothwell.

Inside the Nant Whisky distillery at Bothwell.

Nant Barrel Holdings Pty Ltd manages an investment scheme with Nant whisky barrels held at the Nant Distillery Bonded Warehouse and guarantees to buy back the investors’ barrels at the end of the maturation period.

Mr Batt, a Queensland property developer, bought the Nant Estate in 2004 and started production in 2008.

He filed for personal bankruptcy in February this year.

MORE: NANT FOUNDER KEITH BATT’S PERSONAL DEBT HITS $16M

Nant Group founder Keith Batt.

Investor Pip Allwright has told the Mercury she was unable to cash in on her $5000 investment barrel from Nant.

And Claremont builder Ben Nichols says he still chasing $124,000 owed to him for work on the Nant-owned Macquarie Manor in Hobart.

MORE: INVESTOR FEARS OVER NANT FOUNDER’S BANKRUPTCY

Lark Distillery chair Chris Malcolm will oversee the management of the Nant business and said his role was “to uncover what has gone on in the past and to clean up the company and to grow it”.

There will also be an independent audit and stocktake of all Nant assets.

Mr Malcolm encouraged creditors to “talk to us” about money owed.

“It's the whisky business that is our focus and there’s some good whisky there.”

The acquisition is scheduled to be completed by the end of December.