Ashurst has advised Nyetimber on its £46.1m acquisition of The Lakes

Ashurst has advised Nyetimber Wines and Spirits Group on its successful acquisition of The Lakes Distillery Company.

Nyetimber was founded over 30 years ago and is now a world‐renowned English Sparkling Wine producer based in the South of England. Since its inception, the business has had a single aim: to make the finest English Sparkling Wine, to rival the very best sparkling wines in the world. The Nyetimber business has sought to redefine tastes and attitudes towards English Sparkling Wine, by achieving exceptional quality and consistency in each of its vintages.

The Lakes, one of the leading English Single Malt Whisky producers, distils and distributes a range of spirits including a Single Malt Whisky which won the coveted title of ‘World’s Best Single Malt’ in the World Whiskies Awards in 2022. The Lakes was formed in 2011 and commenced operations in December 2014 with the aspiration to create a global luxury whisky brand.

Nyetimber's acquisition of The Lakes was effected by means of a court sanctioned scheme of arrangement pursuant to which each shareholder in The Lakes received 116 pence in cash per share, valuing the issued share capital of The Lakes at approximately £46.1 million and implying an enterprise value of £71.0 million for The Lakes.

The Ashurst team advising Nyetimber was led by Tom Mercer and Harry Thimont, supported by corporate transactions associates Millie Gibbs, Lucy Mclaughlan, Ellie Conroy, Rebecca Karpin and Shashtika Sundar.