Mór gin and Arderin distillery up for sale as founder Eoin Bara focuses on startup

Eoin Bara of Mór Irish Gin. Photo: Steve Humphreys

Sean Pollock Email

June 26 2022 02:30 AM

Gin brand Mór and its distillery have been put up for sale, with the company’s founder now focussing on a technology startup within the drinks sector.

Speaking to the Sunday Independent, founder Eoin Bara said there had been a fair amount of interest in the brand and distillery since deciding to sell.

He founded the Mór gin brand and the Arderin Distillery in Tullamore, Co Offaly, in 2015.

“I love the brand of Mór too much just to park it to the side,” he said. “I want someone just to take it, run with it and give it the love it needs.

“It is not a distressed sale – it is not anything like that – it is just a case where I want to find the right person or company to carry it forward. Even if it is not there on the money, it is important that the brand continues and grows.”

Bara said Mór had received a lot of interest – including from serious
potential buyers.

In addition, a distribution company in the US has expressed interest in the brand, while some smaller brands have also looked at the distillery.

Last year, Bara claimed a deal was close to being completed to sell Mór for around €5m, having never considered selling the business beforehand.

However, he believes the deal fell through because of a court case Arderin Distillery brought against Revenue in August 2020.

The court case emerged regarding tax relief on alcohol Arderin bought to produce hand sanitiser for hospitals following the outbreak of Covid-19.

A High Court judge recently said she was satisfied Arderin had established a legitimate expectation of an entitlement to the tax relief it had sought from Revenue.

However, the judge also found Revenue had not refused to grant the distillery tax relief, describing the proceeding launched by Arderin as “premature”.

Bara said he was now looking to focus on his new technology startup, Tipple. The company, which raised around €500,000 in March, is a solution for direct-to-consumer alcohol e-commerce, helping with orders and fulfilment through to tax and regulatory compliance.

“We are scaling that beyond Europe,” he said. “We have been having some big chats with big companies – it has been fantastic, and it is solving a problem that both craft and large producers have.”