Mr McCarter previously held the role of interim finance director within the company.

The announcement comes after a rigorous search process initiated in January 2023, following the appointment of Andrew Dane as CEO. The selection process, which involved both internal and external candidates, resulted in Mr McCarter being chosen for the CFO role.

Mr McCarter, an ACCA qualified accountant, brings a wealth of industry experience to the role, having worked for approximately eight years with Diageo. Since joining ASC 15 months ago, his significant impact on the group has been noted.

Additionally, ASC has also confirmed the arrival of Chris Leggat as the new business development director. Mr Leggat, who has two decades of global spirits industry experience, is set to join the executive team in June 2023. He was previously the CEO of independent Scotch whisky blending and bottling specialist Douglas Laing & Co, where he began as commercial director in 2014.

Mark Hunter, chairman, said: “ASC is delighted to have been able to promote Billy McCarter to the role of CFO and to the board from our existing, strong pool of internal talent. Following the promotion of Andrew Dane to the position of CEO earlier in 2023 the internal appointment of Billy demonstrates the strength in depth of the talent within ASC.

“Since joining the group in February 2022, Billy has demonstrated his value to the organisation and has driven forward leadership of the finance function, whilst demonstrating very strong analytical and leadership skills. He is an excellent addition to the board.

“We also look forward to welcoming Chris Leggat to the executive team who has highly relevant experience in the spirits industry, and whisky segment in particular. I, together with the other directors, very much look forward to working closely with both Billy and Chris as ASC progresses its stated strategy to unlock its significant future growth opportunity.”

The group will release an AGM trading update for the four months leading up to 30 April 2023 on 24 May 2023.