Chris Gillan, James Caan, Matthew Hancock and Kayam Iqbal at the Startup of the Year awards ceremony.
Heroes Drinks, based in Edinburgh, has been awarded the title ‘Scotland’s Start Up Loans Company of the Year 2014’ by the Startup Loans Company in their Big Competition 2014.
At a ceremony at City Hall in London, Start Up Loans chairman, James Caan and business minister Matthew Hancock took the stage to congratulate a room full of successful entrepreneurs, before Start Up Loans Company CEO Tim Sawyer announced that it was an ex-military entrepreneur that had won the regional category for Scotland.
Chris Gillan served three operational tours in the Middle East, two tours of Iraq and a third tour in Helmand Province (training the Afghan National Police) before he was discharged from the RAF with an injury that limited his career options to self-employment.
“I wanted to create a business that produced a quality product, but also gave back to the forces and veterans,” said Gillan. “The idea for Heroes came about after meeting the father of a friend of mine who had worked in the wholesale alcohol trade for more than 30 years.”
Heroes Drinks will employ veterans and, though a trust, will donate 20% of all profits to three charities: the Royal Navy & Royal Marine Charity, the Army Benevolent Fund and the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.
Primary product Heroes Vodka, a 37.5% ABV premium vodka, is described as a ‘silky smooth premium Vodka’ with ‘light pepper, mineral with fresh green grass notes coming through’ and is served in restaurants and bars, and sold direct to consumers online.
“I’m delighted to have been selected from so many exciting new businesses in Scotland, and Heroes Drinks is growing at a pace I could never have imagined at the outset,” said Gillan. “X-Forces offers a great service for the military community. It enabled me to secure funding, which meant we could take the business to the next level.
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