Are you financing the cask or the spirit inside it?

This specific product finances the physical wooden cask (the asset). Financing the maturing spirit (inventory finance) is a different, much more complex structured finance product, as the value of the liquid is highly subjective and illiquid until bottled.

Can we finance casks sourced from overseas?

Yes. We work with lenders who understand the global nature of cooperage and can structure finance to accommodate purchasing casks from the US, Spain, France, and beyond.

What happens at the end of the finance term?

Most cask finance is structured as Hire Purchase. Once you have made the final payment at the end of the term (typically 1 to 5 years), the distillery owns the casks outright. They can then be re-filled, rejuvenated, or sold.

Do you offer finance for private cask investment schemes?

No. Sorbus Finance works exclusively with commercial distilling businesses. We do not provide consumer finance or facilitate private individual cask investment schemes.

Cask Finance

Finance for oak casks & maturation barrels

Wood policy is critical to spirit quality, but buying quality oak casks requires massive upfront expenditure for a product that won't yield a return for years. We arrange asset finance for the physical casks to ease this cashflow burden.

Speak to an Adviser Distilleries Hub

Speak with Arran or Graham

1-5 years

Finance terms

All Oak Varieties

Wood types

150+

Lender panel

£0

Broker fees

Funding your wood policy

Independent broker with an extensive panel of 150+ UK lenders. No upfront fees.

Finance the Physical Casks

While financing the actual maturing spirit is highly complex, financing the physical wooden casks is straightforward asset finance. You can spread the cost of purchasing ex-bourbon, sherry, or virgin oak casks over 1 to 5 years.

Preserve Working Capital

Distilleries face a unique challenge: high upfront costs followed by years of waiting for maturation. By financing the casks, you retain vital working capital to cover operational costs, staff, and marketing during the waiting period.

Bulk Procurement

Secure better pricing by ordering casks in larger quantities. Using asset finance allows you to place bulk orders with cooperages in Spain, the US, or the UK without exhausting your cash reserves in one go.

Warehouse & Racking Finance

Alongside the casks themselves, we also arrange finance for the heavy-duty racking systems, warehouse logistics equipment, and commercial mortgages required to build and run bonded maturation warehouses.

Maturation assets we finance

Specialist finance options to match your requirements.

Ex-bourbon barrels (ASB)

Sherry butts & puncheons

Virgin oak casks

Port & wine barriques

Quarter casks & octaves

Large marrying tuns

Heavy-duty warehouse racking

Palletisers & forklifts

Cask handling equipment

Climate & humidity control

Bonded warehouse security

Cask disgorging systems

Who you could speak to

Arran Turner

Managing Director

General commercial finance and how Sorbus works

Profile

Graham Nash

Commercial Finance Director

Business loans, cash flow and wider commercial funding

Profile

STEP 1
A conversation with a broker
You talk to a real Sorbus broker about the business, the purpose and what is affordable. No application at this stage.
STEP 2
Credit placement
If you choose to go further, we prepare the case and decide which lenders on our panel of 150+ are worth approaching.
STEP 3
Lender assessment
The lender, not Sorbus, underwrites and makes the credit decision. Approval is never guaranteed.
STEP 4
Documentation
If a lender offers terms and you accept, we help coordinate agreements and payout paperwork with you.

Every step after the first is optional. You can stop after the conversation. Sorbus is a broker, not a lender.

Client journey

Explore real client journeys

Read how real businesses approached a funding goal, what Sorbus arranged and what happened next.

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Enquire about Cask Finance

Start with a conversation

Tell us a little about what you need and who you would like to speak to. No obligation, no credit check at this stage. We aim to respond within one business day, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm.

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Prefer to call?

Speak directly to an adviser Monday–Friday, 9am–5:30pm.

01246 383500

Free call. No obligation.

Unique to Sorbus Finance

Optional: Business Finance Health Check

Before you approach lenders, understand your borrowing readiness with our free Business Finance Health Check, tailored for UK businesses.

Take the short Health Check

Free · No credit check · Not required before you talk

Want the full picture? The full fact-find is longer and also optional.

Email us anytime

hello@sorbusfinance.co.uk

Free tool

Know your lending position before you apply

The Business Finance Health Check scores your readiness to borrow, business resilience, and growth potential. Free, under 5 minutes, no obligation.

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Questions answered

Common queries about cask finance.

Ready to secure your maturation stock?

Speak to our distilling finance specialists to structure funding for your cask procurement programme.

01246 383500 Distilleries Hub