Scottish Rogue’s Neill Murphy reflects on the recent surge of interest in whisky cask investment scams.

The topic of whisky cask investment scams has once again raised its very ugly head over the last few weeks, thanks to an article and documentary by the BBC. This issue has been a blight on the whisky industry for a number of years and many commentators have gone to great lengths to warn of the dangers.

At Scottish Rogue, we take nothing to do with whisky investment. In fact, we believe the best way to invest in whisky is by opening it and sharing it with friends. The memories made by doing this are worth far more than money. That said, I had my own brief encounter with one of these companies a few short years ago. I didn’t name them at the time but their website has since been deleted and according to Companies House, the business was dissolved in February of 2023, so I may as well name them as The Spirit Exchange Ltd.

I must point out that The Spirit Exchange was not one of the companies mentioned by the BBC, nor do I have any evidence of wrongdoing on their part. However, there were certain things that raised red flags with me at the time and perhaps by highlighting them again, I can add to the discussion on this important issue.

How to Research Whisky Cask Investment Companies

Back in late 2021, a friend who was working as a brand ambassador at the time, contacted me about a work opportunity. This person had agreed to do some work for a new whisky company that was also looking for a content writer. Naturally, I was excited and intrigued, so I decided to check out the company’s website.

I was disappointed to find that they were in the cask investment field and there were several grammar and spelling errors on the site that didn’t exactly shout professionalism. What really concerned me, however, was the lack of traceability regarding the people involved. Several members of staff talked up their expertise in whisky, yet Google and LinkedIn searches failed to uncover any history of them having connections to the industry.

The founder and CEO of the company was Nevyan Markov. His name appears in association with several businesses. In fact, Markov is listed as a director over and over again. There’s Global Acquisitions Group Ltd, current status “accounts overdue”. Markov’s Signature Ltd, current status “dissolved”. Modis Group Ltd, current status “dissolved”. Unit 1 Ltd, current status “dissolved”. N & G Services Ltd, current status “dissolved”. Outdoor Channel Ltd, current status “dissolved”. Arlington LPM Ltd, current status “dissolved”. CEDEX Corporation Ltd, current status “dissolved”. Big Record Entertainment Ltd, current status “dissolved”. And, of course, The Spirit Exchange Ltd, current status “dissolved”. At this point, I stopped looking but I would not be surprised to find more if I carried on.

I want to stress again that this is not evidence of wrongdoing and I am not making an accusation towards Markov. I share this information purely as an example of how easy it is to dig into the people and background of a company you are considering doing business with. The track record on show here did not inspire me with a great deal of confidence and since I wouldn’t be willing to invest money myself, there was no way I would put myself forward as a content writer.

The final nail in the coffin came when I looked again at the list of staff. The brand ambassador that first notifed me of the potential for work was listed, but astonishingly, their image had been digitally altered. I don’t just mean touched up, or filtered, I mean drastically changed so that it looked like a different person. I found this utterly bizarre and could think of no possible justification for it. Three years later, I’m still baffled.

I don’t know what happened with The Spirit Exchange. Certainly, it no longer exists as a business and since it was only around for a total of two years, I hope no-one invested with them. Purely because I doubt they’d get anything back. The company’s facebook page is still online and eight five-star reviews can be viewed on Google. It’s notable, however, that those reviews speak of politeness on the phone and of good delivery of information. There’s no mention of anyone being happy with their returns.

Whisky is for Drinking

Obviously, I chose not to work with The Spirit Exchange. Likewise, the brand ambassador I was in touch with withdrew from the role when I outlined my concerns. Since then, I’ve managed to avoid any further contact with cask investment brokers but I wanted to update this story, given the renewed interest in the subject.

The recent BBC article and documentary did a great job of bringing the matter to a wider audience but there are many, many more companies out there. Some may be genuine but it’s important that we get the message across: you must research thoroughly before parting with any cash. It doesn’t need to be difficult. Just Google the company. Search for it in Companies House. Look at the people and check out any other businesses they were involved with. Look at their work experience on LinkedIn. We live in an age where every career step is recorded online. If there’s no evidence of experience or expertise in whisky, it probably means they don’t have any.

Better still, try not to think of whisky as a money-making commodity. Instead, crack it open, drink it and enjoy it. Responsibly, of course. Money won’t last but the memories of laughter and friendship might and that’s what whisky does best.

This story was originally covered on A Scot on Scotch in January 2022 view here

The BBC article on the subject is here