WhiskyInvestDirect comes from the team behind BullionVault, the world's largest physical gold and silver market online, together with a former director of Diageo – the world's leading Scotch whisky brand owner – with 24 years' industry experience.

The company says the investments will provide “attractive source of capital for distillers, with greater flexibility than traditional banking debt”.

It claims historical performance of maturing Scotch whisky have seen price appreciation of 7% annually over the last decade.

Investors who've bought whisky early in the maturation process and held it in HMRC-approved warehouses in Scotland can then sell the stock back to the blended market, in theory, at a profit.

CEO and co-founder Rupert Patrick said: “Scotch whisky's long ageing process makes forecasting sales very difficult for individual distillers. Cautious production, plus the lack of a modern trading platform, has caused whisky's traditional broking market to dry up, leaving a clear opportunity for a technology-based alternative.

"I have never been more confident about the prospects for the Scotch industry, and by using our cutting-edge platform, both investors and distillers alike can benefit from the growth of the multi-billion pound Scotch whisky market.

"Using the proven trading and custody technology behind BullionVault's success, WhiskyInvestDirect solves a real problem in this vital, growing UK export industry."