Cask Trade named as one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe – Scotch Whisky News
CASK TRADE NAMED AS ONE OF THE FASTEST-GROWING COMPANIES IN EUROPE
Cask Trade has been listed in the Financial Times 1000 fastest-growing companies in Europe.
The London-based cask whisky business is ranked 146th in the prestigious FT1000 list published this month (March).
Cask Trade is a cask whisky merchant for collectors, enthusiasts and independent trade bottlers and is the only cask focussed business to be recognised in the annual list.
Ranking Europe’s most promising companies exhibiting the highest levels of absolute growth and compound annual growth, the FT1000 report is published by the Financial Times in partnership with research company Statista.
As well as ranking within the top 15% of all companies in Europe, Cask Trade comes in as the 4th highest overall in the Food and Beverage sector and is ranked 29th highest of the UK businesses.
Commenting on the achievement, founder and CEO Simon Aron says: “It’s extremely rewarding for myself and the team to be recognised in the FT1000 list among the fastest-growing companies in Europe.
“In 2021 we opened in Asia with an office in Hong Kong. In 2024 we celebrate our fifth year and we are now proud to be selling casks of whisky and other fine spirits on every continent around the world,’ says Simon.
The FT1000 ranking comes hot the heels of Cask Trade being named as one of the UK’s most innovative new businesses when it was placed 24th in the StartUps 100 2024 index and follows a 21st position listing in the 2023 Sunday Times Hundred fastest-growing private companies in Britain.
Despite difficult trading conditions over the last few years, Cask Trade continues to grow its team and customers.
Recently celebrating their 5th anniversary, which will be marked by a tasting event in June, Cask Trade also offers market leading services including Auction Your Cask (founded in 2020) – the world’s first online auction platform for cask whisky and other cask spirits – and Regent Street Cask Bottlers (founded 2021) – a bottling service for cask owners looking to bottle their casks.
The FT1000 ranking, compiled with German research company Statista, showcases those European companies that have grown fastest. They are listed in order of highest compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenue over the period 2019 to 2022. This year, a minimum average growth rate of 36.3 per cent required for inclusion.
To view the full FT1000 list visit: https://www.ft.com/ft1000-2024
ABOUT CASK TRADE:
Founded in 2018 by Simon Aron in partnership with several of the world’s foremost whisky masters, including Keeper of the Quaich Colin Hampden-White, Cask Trade buys and sells exceptional cask whiskies.
The company is unique because it owns all the casks it sells, giving the customer 100% transactional guarantee. Cask Trade only sells whole casks: it is not a whisky cask broker and it does not offer fractional sales.
A passionate whisky collector for more than 20 years, Simon Aron suffered many false promises from whisky investment companies and this drove his ambition to create a real and trustworthy marketplace for whisky collectors and investors, and bottlers:
The company’s casks are held in the best HMRC bonded warehouses, regularly visited and approved by Cask Trade whisky masters. All stock holdings have a complete paper trail.
• Delivery orders from supplier to Cask Trade
• Invoices for transfer of ownership, storage insurance, re-gauging, sampling or movement
• HMRC-issued WOWGR (warehouse keepers, warehouse premises, owner of goods and registered consigners): a fully regulated and closely monitored license requiring due diligence on suppliers as well as customers.
• HMRC-issued AWRS Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme: Licenced to wholesale, bottle and retail.
Included in its extensive list of customer services, Cask Trade’s rigorous processes means that the company will guarantee to buy back from its clients the casks they buy from and have had managed by Cask Trade.
It also offers:
• Regular sampling and re-gauging of casks
• Re-racking (sherry wine, port etc)
• Estimates of bottles and strength in cask (effects of angels’ share 0ver years of maturations)
• Financial modelling for each cask based on age and rarity with estimated % returns
• Costings for bottling, labelling and shipping (duty & tax)
• Regularly updated cask ownership guide which includes statistics from two authoritative third parties (independent of Cask Trade)
• Cask Trade will arrange for clients to receive samples of their whiskies and visit their barrels(s), upon request – wherever possible.
Cask Trade started the first live auction website dedicated to exceptional whisky casks: auctionyourcask.com.
Hosted four times a year and helping private owners/investors sell their cask to independent bottlers and other investors all around the world. All casks will be re-gauged ready for auction and a full 70cl sample will be drawn so that bidders have the opportunity to try the whisky before they buy, wherever possible.
Cask Trade validate all the sellers and confirm proof of ownership and the history of the cask enabling bidders to safely buy. With complete transparency and no sellers’ fee customers receive the actual hammer price. The low buyers’ fee of 15% + VAT offer the opportunity to buyers, trade or private, to buy rare casks.
