Mark Reynier to leave Bruichladdich distillery

By PERRY GOURLEY
Published on 30/10/2012 00:00

MARK Reynier, the founder and former chief executive of the Bruichladdich Distillery company which was sold to Remy Cointreau in July for £58 million, has left the company.

Reynier, who had led the group that bought the distillery in 2000 for £6.5m, said it was “time to find a new challenge”.

At the time of the deal Reynier said he had the option of continuing to be involved with the distillery but that he was considering his future following the sale of the Islay-based whisky maker in what was believed to be the highest price ever paid for a distillery.

Reynier said yesterday: “It was the quality of the spirit that first attracted me to Bruichladdich and my aim was to get it the attention it truly deserved. It has been quite a ride since we set out to resurrect this abandoned distillery, a journey which raised many industry eyebrows at the time. Along the way I have met some wonderful people – customers, colleagues and Islay residents – whose support for this project has been equally passionate.”

Reynier said Simon Coughlin will continue to run the company as chief executive officer.

Bruichladdich’s investors received a seven-times return on their investments under the deal. Reynier believes the return on the shareholders’ investment was the highest ever seen in the Scotch whisky industry. Profits at Bruichladdich hit £1.44m in 2011, edging up from £1.43m in 2010, while turnover jumped by 24 per cent to £8.7m, according to latest accounts at Companies House. Sales soared by a further 60 per cent in the first six months of the year.