Didsbury Gin goes from Dragons Den poster boys to liquidation

The company behind Manchester-based spirits brand Didsbury Gin has gone into liquidation owing close to £200,000 to creditors.

Founded in 2017 by Mark Smallwood and Liam Manton the business won £75,000 of investment after appearing on BBC TV’s Dragons Den, with former Dragon Jenny Campbell taking a third of the business in 2018.

Gareth Howarth from Path Business Recovery has been appointed liquidator of Alderman’s Drinks Ltd, trading as Didsbury Gin.

Didsbury Gin (photo by Jack Kirwin -JK Photography)

The company owed NatWest £64,885 as a Bounce Back Loan and £126, 864 to trade creditors including Greencroft Bottling who are owed £40,657.

In 2019 the business secured £100,000 in funding from NPIF-FW Capital Debt Finance, part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund and said that just three years after their appearance on Dragon’s Den, the business was turning over over £3m in sales.

After signing a deal with distributor C&C in 2021 Liam Manton said Didsbury Gin was “a brand worth more than £3m”.

During the pandemic the company turned its resources towards making hand sanitiser for which they Manton and Smallwood were awarded OBEs (Order of the British Empire) for services to the community in Greater Manchester.

Founder Liam Manton and liquidator Gareth Howarth have not responded to requests for comment.