Monthly newsletter for March 2021

Dear All,

As we close out the second year of operations, we’re excited to see continued momentum on our returns for investors. This month was predominantly driven by positive moves in the GBP:SGD exchange rate, which is continuing to strengthen post Brexit and as markets recover from the Covid pandemic. We’re also very excited to be receiving the next iteration of the Laphroaig 30 year old Ian Hunter Story Book 2, which is the 2nd release in a series of 15 which we hope to complete over time.

For those that are interested in Japanese whisky, Dekanta covered a good review of incoming Japanese whisky regulation expected on April 1st, the associations involved, and the standards that are currently being discussed. We believe this will only strengthen the quality and prices of Japanese whiskies in the future and be another positive tailwind for our portfolio. The auction environment has been relatively muted apart from a record breaking online auction held by Whisky Auctioneer and completed in February. 3,900 bottles were sold in the auction, netting £6.3M, with some notable bottles such as a Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare 60 year old fetching £1M, Macallan 1972 Fine & Rare 29 year old £30K, Macallan 1940 Fine & Rare 37 year old £28K and a Bowmore 1967 Largiemeanoch 12 year old closed at £23K.

More liquidity is being pumped into the US economy and there is potential for another round of stimulus in the EU, so we expect to see real asset prices continue to rise, which bodes well for our investors over the next year. A further boost in whisky prices is expected as the US suspends tariffs on single malt scotch whisky, which should reverse the 35% drop is Scotch whisky exports to the US last year. 

Next month we will be reporting our final returns for year 2 and we will also share further details during our first ever public AGM, which will be scheduled at the end of April (in the past this has been an investor-only event).  We hope that some of you can join us, where we will cover a variety of topics ranging from the latest trends we are seeing in the whisky industry, brands to watch, and an update on our investment strategy for year 3. Looking forward to seeing some of you then!

Marek, Marc, Neil, Gary