First borders distillery for two centuries to be built following £10m cash injection

It will be the first facility of its type in the Borders for 180 years and 20 jobs are expected to be created.

Heavyweight backing has come from high-profile figures such as the Duke of Buccleuch and the Edinburgh-based investment company Badenoch & Co, whose owner Malcolm Offord will become TTSC chairman.

Also backing the enterprise are the Ballande family of France, who originally come from the Scottish Lowlands and are now behind an international commercial group with interests in France and Asia Pacific, and the Swiss-based investment group Drake Enterprises, which has Scottish origins and a background in food retailing, real estate and agribusiness.

The company, which was established in 2013 by George Tait, John Fordyce, Tim Carton and Tony Roberts will now lodge plans to convert the buildings in the town’s Commercial Road, which will include a visitor centre, early next year.

TTSC director and project leader John Fordyce said: “Hawick has a very proud legacy as the centre for textile production and we felt very strongly that we wanted to uphold this rich industrial tradition and bring back distilling to the region after such a long absence.

“The historical context was one major factor in us identifying Hawick, but so was access to natural resources and raw materials.”

He added that the area’s rich natural resources made Hawick an attractive proposition: “There is a plentiful supply of pure water which the mills have depended on for cashmere and tweed production.

“It’s one of the reasons behind Hawick’s reputation for quality manufacturing.

“We also have on our doorstep Scotland’s most fertile barley producing land.

“We will be creating jobs in the local area by tapping into a skilled labour market and increasing tourism in the region through our visitor centre.”

Scotland is already home to over 100 malt and grain distilleries and more than 10,000 people are directly employed by the industry, which generates £3.95billion in export sales and accounts for approximately 25 per cent of UK exports in food and drink.