Sliabh Liag Distillery

Sliabh Liag Distillery is a UK branch of an Irish distillery which is located in Co.Donegal, an area of Ireland that has a distinctive distilling heritage. The distillery specialises primarily in Irish Whiskey but also produces craft gin and vodka.

The Brief

The Irish distillery was raising investment funds under the EIIS regime but wanted to attract investment from the UK market.

UK investors cannot obtain tax relief on investment under the Irish EIIS regime but there is an equivalent regime for UK taxpayers, the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), which may be available if an overseas business is trading in the UK.

We were appointed to consider the structure of the UK trade and following our advice, the trade was formally registered as a UK branch. Following this, we applied to HM Revenue & Customs to obtain EIS status based on this arrangement which was subsequently granted.

How we helped

By structuring the UK entity as a branch, this ensured that the business was capable of qualifying for EIS status.

Individuals investing into a business with EIS status can receive certain tax reliefs based on their investment and these reliefs ultimately make an investment opportunity more attractive.

By being able to confirm to the wider market that the business qualifies for this status, Sliabh Liag is likely to attract investment from sources that it may not otherwise have had access to.