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Case Study

Client

Cobblestone Brands

Module

Funding

Markets

USA

How Cobblestone fuelled expansion through acquiring heritage brands from Pernod Ricard and Campari, without diluting equity

Cobblestone partnered with Fero to secure working capital enabling them to acquire heritage brands, like Knappogue Castle from Pernod Ricard in 2025 and then complete another round of acquisitions, including tequila brand Cabo Wabo, without diluting equity.

Results

£11.6m

Inventory funding deal

Equity dilution

Heritage brands acquired

Global majors acquired from

The Challenge

Big opportunities need capital fast, and equity is the most expensive capital there is.

Cobblestone Brands was founded in 2022 by the team behind Glendalough Distillery and Five Lamps Brewery. Their strategy runs on two pillars: build new-to-world brands such as Four Corners Gin, and acquire heritage brands that have lost focus inside the portfolios of some of the largest global drinks majors that owned and invested in brands.

In a softer market, opportunities to acquire some well-established brands opened up. Pernod Ricard owned Knappogue Castle and Clontarf, two Irish whiskeys that sat behind Jameson and the rest of Irish Distillers’ range. Campari owned Cabo Wabo, a 30-year-old lifestyle tequila behind Espolòn, and Bisquit, a 200-year-old cognac house behind Courvoisier. Great brands, just in a crowded portfolio.

The Challenge

Big opportunities need capital fast, and equity is the most expensive capital there is.

Speed matters to a seller.

These were smaller deals for Pernod Ricard and Campari. To be a credible counterparty, Cobblestone had to commit to a timeline and hit it.

The deals come with stock.

Brand acquisitions included finished goods and one of the largest inventories of aged Irish single malt, from 7 up to 35 years old. The team saw it as an asset, but it can tie up capital for years.

Generalist lenders don’t get it.

High-street banks struggle to value maturing whiskey or understand how a drinks business turns stock into revenue.

Equity is finite.

Every pound of shareholder money locked in inventory is a pound that can’t fund the next opportunity.

The Solution

Stock funded, orders shipped, markets opened.

Shareholder debt

To close the Pernod Ricard deal in summer 2025, Cobblestone moved fast. Some of its existing shareholders put up a short-term debt instrument so the acquisition could complete on time. It worked, but it was a sledgehammer: expensive, inflexible and tying up shareholder money.

£11.6m against the stock

Within a couple of months, Fero replaced that debt with an £11.6m inventory funding deal secured against the acquired stock. No new equity, no dilution.

Industry specialists

A team that understands maturing stock, age profiles and sales velocity, so there was no need to educate a generalist lender.

Stock as the asset

The aged Irish single malt and finished goods that came with Knappogue Castle and Clontarf became the asset, not the founders’ equity.

Shareholders repaid

Cobblestone returned the bridge funding to its shareholders, who kept that capital ready for the next raise.

Built for how whiskey works

Fero’s platform lets Cobblestone switch parcels of stock in and out as it bottles, sells and lays down whiskey at different ages.

"What we did with our shareholders was great, and we were able to do it in a very timely fashion. But it’s a bit of a sledgehammer. It’s not very user friendly, which is why it made sense to move over to Fero."

Brian Fagan

CEO and Founder, Cobblestone Brands

How it worked

How one deal funded the next

Acquire

Knappogue Castle and Clontarf from Pernod Ricard, summer 2025.

Bridge

Shareholders put up short-term debt so the deal completes on time.

Fero releases £11.6m

Inventory funding secured against the stock that came with the deal.

Repay

The bridge goes back to shareholders, ready for the next raise.

Acquire again

That equity funds Cabo Wabo and Bisquit & Dubouché from Campari.

WHY FERO

Specialists who speak the language, on a platform unlike any other lender.

Cobblestone was introduced to Fero through a trusted client that already used Fero themselves. The initial conversation assured the team that there was no need for another long process with a more traditional lender.

“Coming from finance, I’d always spoken to the banks in Ireland. But talking to generalists is so much more difficult than talking to someone who understands the industry. The Fero platform, the ability to switch out parcels of stock, that usability: I don’t think you’re ever going to get that from a big mainstream bank. After 15 years in the industry, I knew this would be more suitable for us.”

“It was certainly the first time we had seen a platform that user friendly. There just isn’t a comparison with the more mainstream banks or debt providers.”

“It became very clear early on that there was that knowledge of the industry, which you didn’t get when you were talking to generalist banks. These guys get it. They understand how our business works.”

The Results

Four years after launch, Cobblestone owns brands from two of the world’s biggest drinks groups, and kept its equity for growth.

Refinancing the Pernod Ricard stock with Fero gave Cobblestone financial flexibility and released its shareholders’ capital. That capital went straight into the next opportunity: acquiring Cabo Wabo tequila and Bisquit & Dubouché cognac, a house founded in 1819, from Campari. Four heritage brands, two global majors, zero equity dilution.

Cobblestone is now steward of a near century-old Irish single malt, a 200-year-old cognac house and one of the original lifestyle tequilas, alongside an innovation portfolio that includes an Irish coffee RTD and an Indian single malt.

Cashflow optimisation

A flexible, revolving credit facility structured around barrel valuations and production cycles: capital that moves at the pace of a whiskey distillery, not a bank's quarterly review.

Supply chain infrastructure

Logistics, inventory tracking and operational tooling across the full value chain from production through to market. Fero's operating system can handle the complexity and offers an operational infastrucutre, if and when they are ready.

Long-term alignment

The structure is explicitly designed for a multi-decade relationship. Fero's incentives align with Still Austin's growth: success for one is success for both.

Growth strategy partnership

Fero works directly with the Still Austin leadership team on commercial strategy, distribution planning and how to deploy capital most effectively as the brand expands nationally.

What's Next

One platform from production to market

Inventory funding was stage one. The next stage is end to end.

With a portfolio now spanning Irish whiskey, tequila and cognac, Cobblestone is looking at how Fero can take on more of the operational load so its team and capital go into brands, and not unnecessary infrastructure and systems.

Unlocked

Product capacity is unlocked to meet accelerating demand

0% dilution

Still Austin retains ownership & control with 0% equity dilution

100%

100% operational independence remains with Still Austin from pricing to quality standards

3 months

Only 3 months passed between first conversation with Still Austin to signed deal

“Go and meet them and ask them to show you how their platform works. You’ll be speaking the same language, and it’s unlike anything I’d ever seen from a traditional debt provider.”

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