EUROPE – Luxembourg-based spirits producer and distributor, Amber Beverage Group (ABG), has secured a €27 million (US$29.99 million) credit facility from Swiss bank, Credit Suisse AG.
Amber Beverage said that the proceeds will used to improve the effectiveness of its operations to support the company’s expansion plans.
“Having sufficient capital to run your global business is crucial to ensure operations run smoothly,” said Jekaterina Stuge, CFO of Amber Beverage Group.
“The boost from Credit Suisse will help us to consolidate our cash flow from Australia, the UK, Austria within one cash pool.
“From an international perspective, it will allow us to benefit from more flexible cash flow management options, as all of our companies have a different working capital cycle.”
“This deal is only the first step and we look forward to future business with Credit Suisse AG to develop Amber Beverage Group further,” said Jekaterina Stuge.
Over the years, ABG has transformed from a Baltic enterprise into a global organisation with a world-class infrastructure.
The company has succeeded in bringing in new companies, such as UK distributor Cellar Trends and Australian distributor Think Spirits.
While celebrating the company’s fifth anniversary, Seymour Ferreira, the Amber Beverage CEO said that the company will continue to explore various growth opportunities that will steer the group into the top 10 of European spirits companies.
“Tactically we will always be looking for acquisition opportunities, and they will be more on a smaller scale that allow us to improve our footprint or allow us to move into new categories faster than we might do if we were to do it ourselves.
“But we want to consolidate what we have already achieved and grow our base of core brands into international brands, and we also want to make sure we continue to build our distribution base so we can continue with our rapid growth,” Ferreira said.
In December last year Amber Beverage acquired a controlling stake in Austrian distributor and wholesaler Mountain Spirits to further expand its product range.
The company has also appointed AMKA Group, one of Northern Europe’s influential independent importers, as its spirits distributor in Denmark and further awarded Spirit France Diffusion the exclusive countrywide distribution rights of ABG portfolio of brands.
ABG core brands include Riga Black Balsam, Moskovskaya Vodka, Rooster Rojo Tequila, Cosmopolitan Diva and Cross Keys Gin.
The company exports and retails a comprehensive range of refreshments, representing more than 600 own and third-party brands to Russia, Mexico, the UK, Australia, Austria as well as the Baltics.
