Drynks Unlimited secures £1m equity investment following UAE listing

Alcohol free beer and cider specialist Drynks Unlimited has secured an additional £1 million investment in order to ramp up production.

Former Halewood marketing director Richard Clark set up the business in 2017 to capitalise upon growing demand for alcohol-free drinks.

It has gone from strength to strength since then, scooping a clutch of taste awards and earning listings with Booths and other UK retailers.

It really expanded into the UAE after gaining listings at 64 Spinneys stores. UAE law requires Smashed lager and pale ale to be renamed, so they will be known as Smashed Gold and Smashed Pale in that market.

Drynks Unlimited had previously raised £1.5 million to boost growth, including a £125,000 investment from TV star Sara Davies after Clark presented the brand on Dragon’s Den.

Clark said: “There is real momentum in the no and low alcohol category and Covid-19 has accelerated this both in the UK and around the world. The category is competitive but we believe we have a range of alcohol free drinks that knock the socks off the competition and will change how consumers socialise forever.

“This £1 million investment is absolutely key to help us move out of the start-up phase and into a key national and international alcohol-free brand and we’re very proud to have Bill Roberts on the team who brings with him a wealth of experience in scaling businesses. The funding will enable us to install a new bigger capacity cool vacuum distillation (CVD) machine in Robinson’s Brewery and support a big marketing push in the run-up to Christmas and into Dry January to widen our appeal with consumers.”

The £1 million equity investment was made by Bill Roberts, chairman and founder of jewellery retailer Welsh Clogau, who joined Drynks Unlimited to help to build momentum and drive growth in the business.

He said: “I invested in Drynks for two reasons. Firstly, I saw the massive potential presented by the development of a quality premium alcohol free range of drinks, and secondly, I was impressed by the absolute dedication, commitment and entrepreneurial spirit of Richard Clark, who is the driving force of the business.”