Mackmyra Distillery declares bankruptcy: What next for Swedish whisky?

Above: An ex-Mackmyra cask I saw at Fary Lochan distillery on my visit there in 2023

What happened? How did Mackmyra go bankrupt?

Mackmyra, the cornerstone of Swedish whiskey distilling, has just announced bankruptcy today.

Petter Ski, the chairman of Mackmyra's board of directors, stated that 'it is unfortunately not possible to continue the company's operations' . Apparently, the distillery has struggled to maintain liquidity and profitability. 'I really hope that the bankruptcy trustee now gets the chance to do something constructive with the values ​​that exist in the company'. You can see the full statement at the bottom of this article. 

Swedish business magazine Affärsvärlden notes that SEB bank chose not to extend the company's overdraft in March this year, apparently offering no reason for this decision to Mackmyra. Emma Berglund Uväng  (or Advokatfirman Schjødt), has been proposed as bankruptcy trustee.

MFN notes that Mackmyra carried out a major restructuring project over the last year,  laying off 'significant' numbers of staff and revising the 'concept and sales structure'. Shareholders have already taken on much of Mackymra's financial burden in recent years.

Mackmyra is listed on First North NASDAQ. The stock has lost approximately 98 percent over the past three years , and we're talking about  over 345 million shares here. Mackmyra's share price ( MACK B ) has declined for some time, most notably with a steep drop at the end of 2023. That corresponded to a large release of  new shares , planned to combine with an overdraft which would get Mackmyra's finances back on track. This is why SEB's refusal to extend an overdraft has led to the company's need to declare bankruptcy. 

May saw a shareholder loan from some of the company's larger owners, and MFN claims that Mackmyra held talks with other players in the industry about 'collaborations' and 'part ownership' options. Despite apparent progress and ' intensive efforts by the company's management and board ', no agreement saving Mackymra's finances was reached.

Above : A bottle of Mackmyra single malt at a whisky show (my photo - 2022)

Mackmyra's legacy - What does the future hold?

What does the future look like for one of Europe's biggest distilleries? There is still an enormous amount of Mackmyra stock aging in casks, bottled in shops and warehouses, and the production facilities are still up and running just fine. There are countless employees, brand ambassadors, and fans connected to the brand. Now, what will happen to their employer? We hope a solution can be found, maybe a new owner for the distillery or some other way to rescue Mackmyra's finances.

This is such significant news because Mackmyra isn't just any distillery. It's one of  the European distillers , the genesis of Swedish whiskey and single malt distilleries capable of replicating or beating anything coming out of Scotland. A company which started back in 1998, whose first malt saw the light of day in 2006, which ended up so big it was really two distilleries in one.

The original, using Forsyths pot stills, produced 420,000 LPA. The second, more famous  gravity distillery  cost SEK 50 million (€4,344,583 today) and went online in 2011, showcasing incredible energy efficiency and striking design while producing 1,260,000 LPA. That makes it comparable to Arran , Glen Garioch , or Ardbeg (the last of which would, I imagine, be a particularly flattering comparison for Swedish whiskey makers).

In fact, this gravity distillery directly inspired the design of Port of Leith , a new distillery in Edinburgh which we just talked about on the EuroWhisky Podcast 's latest episode. So not only was Mackmyra the single most important distillery in Sweden, and one of the most important in Europe, but it even re-shaped how new distillers in Scotland make whisky . 

Cards on the table - I really like Mackmyra whisky, and attending a tasting of their whiskey in Edinburgh (alongside that of Sweden's other biggest distillery, High Coast ) is still a very fond memory of mine. It was 2018, I attended with friends including Swedish Whisky Girl Moa Reynolds, and master blender Angela D'Orazio gave a fantastic presentation of Swedish single malts. I also had a crutch under one arm due to a knee injury, so getting back down the Royal Mile afterwards was an experience. 

Overall, I can't believe such a large distillery is in this position. It's a blow to Swedish whisky, and to European single malt or 'world whisky' as a whole.

That said, this should also give us some hope. The distillery has so many assets and fans, so much value still held up in the distillery, that surely something can be done to keep that going, even if it does end up being in a drastically altered form. There is still profit to be had there.

More than that, there are  hundreds of distilleries across Europe today , compared to the literal handful when Mackmyra came onto the scene. Even in the worst case scenario, you won't be short of interesting new whiskeys from across Sweden and Europe, and hopefully this would translate into other jobs in the whiskey world for those who lose theirs at Mackmyra.

For Swedish whisky, all hope is not lost whatever happens to Mackmyra. Sweden has around 13 distilleries making whisky, most notably High Coast and some smaller but no less interesting distilleries like Agitator.

Above : A sample of Mackmyra Muddus I got from Matteo of WhiskyToYou  (my photo - 2024)