We’ve tried to capture the most frequently asked questions from whisky lovers who are interested to be an investor. Click on each question to take you straight to the answer.
- Is it too late to be an investor in Nine Rivers Distillery?
- Will I actually make any return on my investment, investing so late in the project?
- How can investors be confident you’re not just spending all the money on the high life?
- What if I’m not based in China?
- What if I’m a PRC national? How can I invest?
- Are there any investor benefits?
- Can I earn dividends on my investment?
- What if I need to sell my shares within the first 5 years?
- Can investors visit the distillery?
- Can I get my name on a bottle?
- If I invest, will Nine Rivers Distillery be my customer for my own business?
- Can I earn money if I introduce other investors?
- Who actually works for Nine Rivers Distillery? How big is the team? How many are on the payroll?
- Where can I find out more?
If you can’t find what you’re looking for, then please use the form at the bottom to contact us with any questions that you might have.
Is it too late to be an investor in Nine Rivers Distillery?
No. We will continue to raise investment until we are cash flow positive as a distillery, which we are aiming for being some time in 2026. We will also raise further funding for our cooperage project, and then future expansions for smaller distilleries across China.
Will I actually make any return on my investment as someone that comes into the project so late?
We can’t actually say whether or not anyone will make a return as all investments have a risk to them. In fact, if you ever see an investment promising any level of return, it’s probably dodgy! But logic will always suggest that if someone invests in a company that is a success, then their investments will grow.
There are thousands of companies on the stock markets across the world that are decades and even centuries old, and investors still make a good return on investment.
What we can say with confidence is that this is a project founded by whisky lovers, funded by whisky lovers and absolutely everyone is committed to making this project a success.
How do I know you’re not just spending my money on private jets and posh cars?
Some really obvious answers to start with. For the first 3 years of this project, international travel was challenging at best. So logic would suggest that we weren’t spending investors money on private jets. There was nowhere to travel to without losing weeks in quarantine!
There are no company vehicles. For the first 18 months our General Manager borrowed a beaten up old Honda from a family member, and now uses his own motorbike to travel around. Long distance travel is by train and if hotels are needed then it’s typically one of the cheap national chains of 3 star hotels that cost peanuts.
Aside from that, as a Hong Kong PLC, our annual accounts are published and available from Hong Kong Companies Registry. The published accounts have to be audited by a registered auditor.
What if I’m not based in China – how can I be a part of the project as an active investor?
We have investors from (literally) the four corners of the world. Some have a connection with China. Some don’t. Some of our investors have never been to China. But they are whisky lovers and they want to be a part of what we’re doing.
There are a significant amount of investors that help us remotely. Whether its helping to create our content, being involved in online workshops or simply liking and sharing our content – everyone can contribute some effort if they really want to.
PRC Nationals – how to invest?
PRC nationals are welcome to invest in our project, however, there is a legal process called “ODI” (overseas direct investment) that must be completed by all PRC nationals. We don’t take any responsibility for this process, or the completion of it.
Investor Benefits? Do I get free whisky?
No. There’s no such thing as free – especially when it comes to alcohol, which incurs taxes and duties across the world. Costs have to be covered somehow, and as a grass roots startup, funded by micro-investors, we don’t have the multimillion dollar marketing budgets of the big players in the alcohol industry.
We do have significant discounts on products for investors. As long as it’s for personal consumption or gifts for your friends and family, then frankly, we don’t need to make a profit on selling to our investors.
Some of our investors host Whisky Networking events (the events from which Nine Rivers Distillery was born) so for events they will logically get product at cost plus any legally required taxes and duties.
There are obviously some sanity checks that will be in place. Turning up with a truck and a forklift and asking for pallets of product is going to raise some eyebrows and is likely to be met with a big NO.
What are the dividends on the shares? How much are they worth? How much can I earn?
Firstly, there will be no dividends payable for at least the first few years. We would guess that the company would not be in any position to pay any dividends before 2028. Dividends are paid from profits and we think it’s makes more sense to reinvest all profits for the first few years to grow the business.
Paying out dividends in the early stages of the business reduces the amount of money we have. The more money we have to reinvest – the less investment we need.
As for any guesses around what dividends might be available beyond 2028 – we don’t know. We have a business plan and we have forecasted what we hope to be producing and selling (and therefore turnover and gross profit) but to claim that we could pay XXX per share in 2028 would be a type of financial fraud.
Emergency exit – what if I need to sell my shares within the first 5 years?
The shareholder agreement is structured to encourage investors to hold their shares for at least 5 years. It is structured in a way where any profits made on the investment by the investor (the difference between the price they bought their shares at, and the price that they sell their shares at) is shared on a sliding scale with the company. After the first 5 years of holding is complete, then all profits on the sale of shares (minus normal admin costs, such as filings with Hong Kong Companies Registry) go to the investor.
During these first 5 years, any need to sell shares, would initially be offered to the Board of Directors to buy out. As a secondary route the shares would be offered to all other investors.
Can I visit the distillery as an investor?
Absolutely! It’s YOUR distillery. The only thing we will ask is for you to book a time slot. This isn’t to be difficult. This is simply so we can ensure that we will have staff to show you around and make sure you get the very best experience of your time.
Prior to the construction being completed, there are a lot of health and safety issues to consider so you’ll have to abide with these rules to be able to visit the actual site. It’s about 50 meters from our current office and we’ll brief you on those rules (and get you fitting out with a hard hat and a high vis vest before we take you onsite).
Please make sure you bring your own suitable footwear. We’d suggest “work boots” with toe protection. It’s a building site after all. After the construction is completed then normal footwear is acceptable.
Where possible, we’d also like to try and group investor visits with other investors. It’s a great chance to meet other people involved in the project and creates a much better experience for everyone.
A few common sense things to be aware of: You can’t bring minors (under the age of 18), you can’t bring pets, the site is not suitable for anyone with difficulties walking or anyone that uses a wheelchair (both during construction and after construction is completed) and smoking of any description (cigarettes, cigars, vapes etc) are completely banned and must be left off site.
Take Note – anyone that does not respect the rules about smoking on site, will be removed immediately by security and banned from any future visits. If you’re not quite sure why, then let us explain. High ABV alcohol (during or after distillation) is highly flammable and can explode. We’re not going to allow any risks to our project because someone couldn’t walk off site to get their nicotine fix.
Can I get my name on a bottle?
We added the names of the investors (as they were at the time of design) to the packaging for The Founders’ Casks. This has been well received by both investors and whisky lovers who purchased the bottles.
We have plans to make at least one product each year that will feature the names of everyone that has invested in Nine Rivers Distillery.
I do X/Y/Z as a business – if I invest in Nine Rivers Distillery, can I sell my goodies to you?
Probably not.
If your interest is primarily to invest so you can consider Nine Rivers Distillery as a customer, then this is probably not the best motivation for you to get involved with our project.
Aside from the fact that literally everything we do is done either for free by our investors (who do it for the love of our project and bragging rights) when something isn’t free, we get the lowest possible price on everything. There are enough of us involved in Nine Rivers Distillery with extensive experience of procurement to ensure we can do everything we need to do on our limited budgets.
Can I earn money by introducing other investors?
No. In the first instance that wouldn’t be legal in all of the jurisdictions that we know about.
Creating some kind of commission driven sales network to create introductions or referrals for other investors to join our project would no doubt result in financial regulators from all across the world, hitting us with fines and probably trying to close us down. Not to mention the fact that our name would be all over social media as some form of scam.
Besides, even if it was legal, that commission would have to come from somewhere. We don’t have a magic money tree, so that commission would come out of the investment of your friend’s investment. So they would technically be losing something from your “friendship” driven referral.
Let’s be fair here. If you’re part of our project and you believe in it, then would you really want to make money from your friends to tell them about Nine Rivers Distillery?
Who works for Nine Rivers Distillery?
The Board of Directors
Firstly, we have a board of directors. There are currently 7 members of the board and they are all HERE at the top of our Meet The Team page. Collectively, the board have funded over 60% of our project and will continue to fund as our project grows and needs more investment.
The board are not paid a salary for their time. They are paid in shares at a rate that is roughly on-par with a non-exec director salary for a western startup company. Essentially they are all paid for one day per month, irrespective of how many days they work to support our project.
Advisors
We currently have 3 board advisors and they are also compensated for one day a month and again, it is paid in shares.
Salaried Staff
As of December 2023, we have 4 members of staff that are salaried. We have Maggie (who does a little bit of everything), Winnie (finance), Olive (finance and admin) and Essen (translation and social media).
Where can I find out more about the Nine Rivers Distillery Project?
Most general information can be found at our website if you CLICK HERE. More specific information about investing in Nine Rivers Distillery can be found if you CLICK HERE. Alternatively you can use the form below.
Prospective Investors
Complete the form below if you’re interested to learn more about investing in Nine Rivers Distillery.
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