R&B Distillers, which distils the Isle of Raasay single malt, hopes to start construction of the Machrihanish Distillery next year.

The firm, which is co-founded by Scottish technology entrepreneur Bill Dobbie, has just completed the purchase of a site in the remote Argyll & Bute port that used to be home to more than 30 distilleries.

The Dhurrie Farm location will be home to a new distillery and visitor centre, subject to planning consent that is expected to be finalised later this year. The planned initial production output will be 400,000 litres a year, The Scotsman reports.

Mr Dobbie said: “When R&B Distillers was founded in 2015 we had a clear ambition to create Scotland’s leading artisanal distiller – building on Raasay’s nascent success, and, noticing the clear global demand for supreme quality drinks with unquestionable provenance, this announcement confirms significant progress towards this goal.”

Argyll & Bute councillor Donald Kelly said he was “delighted to see what could be the beginning of a renaissance of whisky distilling in the Campbeltown region”.

He added: “With years gone by since we were Scotland’s home of whisky, seeing the return of a farm-to-bottle distillery that will provide important local employment and a vibrant visitor attraction is something that really excites me and the broader community.”