RARE Single Malts, a private equity whisky fund, announced June 22 it had begun capital raising in Hong Kong. The unique fund offers professional investors access to mature and rare single malt Scotch whisky assets in a fast appreciating market that is uncorrelated to traditional asset classes.

The fund will primarily target rare whisky casks that are between 15 and 40 years old, as well as bottles and collections over 30 years and 18 years of age, respectively, with a view to holding and realizing growth through market appreciation, maturity and bottling.

“Faced with extreme market volatility and a prolonged global recession, investors are turning to alternative assets such as whisky to weather the storm,” says Murray Holdgate, a general partner at the fund. “Whisky is fast becoming liquid gold, reflecting its growing status as a collectible asset that appreciates strongly in value due to its rarity.”  

In The Wealth Report 2019, Knight Frank revealed that in the 10 years to Q4 2018, the value of whisky increased by 582%, significantly outperforming other alternative investments and collectibles including rare coins, cars, rare stamps, art and fine wine. 

By 2019, Scotch whisky's total export value reached 4.9 billion pounds sterling, according to HMRC export data. Underscoring the growth in value of whisky, last year a bottle of Macallan 1926 60-year-old Scotch whisky set a new world record after fetching 1.5 million pounds (US$1.9 million) at auction.

Rare Single Malts is being launched with a target commitment of 20 million pounds and a minimum subscription of 100,000 pounds. Initial fundraising will focus on high net worth individuals, family offices and boutique institutional investors with the first close due July 31. Henderson Fiduciary & Corporate Services has been appointed as the licensed administrator.

The fund has been launched by the partners behind Rare Finds Worldwide, a Hong Kong based whisky brokerage. Comprising a team of banking and alternative investment professionals with a passion for whisky, the fund and brokerage will serve the full client journey – from sourcing and building premium collections to providing an exit strategy.

“Targeting rare whisky casks that are at the cusp of reaching their premium years is a first in Hong Kong,” adds Freeman Ho, whisky specialist at Rare Finds Worldwide. “Through the combined brokerage and fund partnership, we are positioned to meet the growing demand for whisky as the next hot luxury collectible asset from a younger generation of affluent Asian investors and connoisseurs.”