A former advertising executive who
came up with the idea of a black vodka is due to float
his company on Aim this week with a market value of about
£15m.
Mark Dorman
was working in San Francisco when he was offered a choice
of 28 vodkas in a bar and then asked if he wanted his
coffee black or white. He thought it would be a
great marketing ploy to be able to offer drinkers a black
vodka. A friend in the drinks
industry said it would be possible to change the spirit's
colour using catechu, a herb known to the ancients as a
cure-all. Rich in tannin, catechu has no effect on
vodka's flavour.
After mortgaging his house
and taking out all his savings, Mr Dorman launched Blavod
Black Vodka in 1998, and was soon selling it to the Tesco
supermarket chain and off licence chains, including
Threshers. In the year to March 2000,
the company sold 30,000 cases, including exports to
traditional vodka-drinking countries such as Latvia and
Poland.
The largest backer so far
has been Baron Eric de Rothschild, head of Chateau
Lafitte, who has invested about £2m ($2.89m). None of
the existing shareholders will be selling any of their
holding in the flotation, which is expected to raise up
to £5m through a placing. Blavod, which is advised
by Brewin Dolphin Securities, will use the proceeds for
marketing and promotion of the brand.
Richard Ambler, chief
executive, joined in November last year and has worldwide
management experience with IDV and Diageo. Allan Shiach,
non-executive chairman, was chairman and chief executive
of Macallan-Glenlivet, the whisky group, from 1979 to
1996.
The company has only a
handful of employees and does not intend to get involved
with distilling or bottling. Blavod is distilled by
Hayman, a privately owned UK group that makes Plymouth
Gin and other spirits for brand owners
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