FDBusiness.com

Mark Anthony Group, a privately owned Canadian beverage company, is reported to have invested €5.5 million for a significant but undisclosed stake in Glendalough Distillery, an Irish craft spirits producer based in County Wicklow. The Glendalough Distillery was set up in 2011 by five friends from Wicklow and Dublin with a deep passion for reviving the heritage of craft distilling in Ireland. Initially it started by producing poitín and since then has moved to whiskey and most recently the release of seasonal, wild botanical gins. The company now sells its products in more than 15 markets including the US, which generates over 60% of turnover.

Founded in 1972, Mark Anthony Group has grown organically from a one-man wine importing business to become a producer and distributor of fine wine, premium beer and today is the largest RTD (ready to drink) company in North America and the fourth largest in the world. The company’s portfolio of brands includes Mike’s Hard Lemonade®, Mike’s Harder®, Cayman Jack® and Palm Breeze Spritz®, Canada’s first sustainable brewery (Stanley Park Brewery), and the Okanagan Cider Company.