Fintech firm Ferovinum is to back the Scotch whisky industry with £100m of business funding.

The fintech business behind wine and spirits inventory funding platform is launching into the Scotch whisky industry, with an ambition to transform the way distillers, bottlers and brand owners fund their growth, it said.

Backed by institutional capital to deploy £100 million of support for Scottish business in the next year alone, the company’s technology allows businesses to access their liquid assets “quickly and easily”, turning stock into working capital to reinvest wherever and whenever it’s needed.

Founders and global finance experts Mitchel Fowler and Daniel Gibney have now appointed Scottish drinks and hospitality veteran Gregor Mathieson to lead their Scotch whisky operation.

After a successful pilot with independent bottler Adelphi and The Glenturret, Scotland’s oldest working distillery, Mathieson said he believed a “modern, flexible and favourable” alternative to traditional bank finance is “long overdue, to maximise whisky’s huge potential and help companies stay competitive in global markets”.

“This is about democratising access to finance with levels of growth funding that have traditionally been out of reach for most companies, whether they’re heritage brands or one of the exciting new entrants to Scotland’s whisky market,” he added.

“Once companies are up and running on our platform, they’re in full control of the funding process. They can log in and upload stock to release cash within a matter of days, to expedite funding for any project and buy it back whenever they need it, with no additional fees or penalties.”