In our Who Runs Scotland series so far, we have revealed the industries which have the most access to political power in Scotland through lobbying meetings with our ministers, MPs and MSPs.
Our analysis found that three of Scotland’s most high-profile and powerful industries – oil and gas, fish farming, and whisky – have repeatedly attempted to exert influence over Scottish politics in this way.
These iconic exports are often assumed to be working hard for Scotland’s economy.
But where does their ownership really lie? Which companies are behind some of Scotland’s best known exports, which are trying to sway the decision-making of elected officials?
Whisky
Total lobbying of Scottish MSPs since 2021: 243
Ownership outside the UK: France, Thailand, Japan, Bermuda
Just a third of Scotch single malt whisky distilleries are owned in Scotland.
Whisky is considered Scotland’s national drink – besides Irn-Bru. The sector is important to Scottish tourism, employs 41,000 Scots, and generated £5.4bn in exports last year alone, according to the Scotch Whisky Association.
But who actually owns our distilleries? According to our analysis, just 52 (34 per cent) of Scotland’s 153 single malt whisky distilleries are owned in Scotland. Some 46 are owned by companies in England, 18 are owned in France, while seven belong to Japanese firms.
| Distillery | Ultimate Owner | Ultimate Owner Country | Region | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Dhu | Aceo Limited | England | Speyside | 1899 |
| Ardnamurchan | Adelphi Distillery | Scotland | Highland | 2014 |
| Benbecula | Angus A. MacMillan | Scotland | Highland | 2024 |
| Glencadam | Angus Dundee Distillers | England | Highland | 1825 |
| Tomintoul | Angus Dundee Distillers | England | Speyside | 1964 |
| Arbikie | Arbikie Distilling Ltd | Scotland | Highland | 2015 |
| Ben Nevis | Asahi Breweries | Japan | Highland | 1825 |
| Wolfburn | Aurora Brewing | England | Highland | 2013 |
| Royal Brackla | Bacardi Limited | Bermuda | Highland | 1812 |
| Craigellachie | Bacardi Limited | Bermuda | Speyside | 1891 |
| Aberfeldy | Bacardi Limited | Bermuda | Highland | 1896 |
| Aultmore | Bacardi Limited | Bermuda | Speyside | 1896 |
| Macduff | Bacardi Limited | Bermuda | Highland | 1962 |
| Ballindalloch | Ballindalloch Distillery LLP | Scotland | Speyside | 2014 |
| Bowmore | Beam Suntory | Japan | Islay | 1779 |
| Glen Garioch | Beam Suntory | Japan | Highland | 1797 |
| Laphroaig | Beam Suntory | Japan | Islay | 1815 |
| Auchentoshan | Beam Suntory | Japan | Lowland | 1823 |
| Ardmore | Beam Suntory | Japan | Highland | 1898 |
| Blackness Bay | Blackness Bay Distillery Ltd | Scotland | Lowland | 2024 |
| BrewDog | Brewdog | Scotland | Highland | 2016 |
| Glendronach | Brown-Forman Corporation | USA | Highland | 1826 |
| Glenglassaugh | Brown-Forman Corporation | USA | Highland | 1875 |
| BenRiach | Brown-Forman Corporation | USA | Speyside | 1897 |
| Lochlea | Burglas Limited | Scotland | Lowland | 2018 |
| Burn O’Bennie | Burnobennie Distillery Limited | Scotland | Highland | 2021 |
| Glen Grant | Campari Group | Italy | Speyside | 1840 |
| Isle of Raasay | Chanrossa Group Ltd | Scotland | Highland | 2017 |
| InchDairnie | Copenhagen Fortuna Company A/S | Denmark | Lowland | 2015 |
| Crafty | Crafty Scottish Distillers Ltd | Scotland | Lowland | 2017 |
| Deeside | Deeside Brewery & Distilling Ltd | Scotland | Highland | 2012 |
| Oban | Diageo | England | Highland | 1794 |
| Blair Athol | Diageo | England | Highland | 1798 |
| Lagavulin | Diageo | England | Islay | 1816 |
| Teaninich | Diageo | England | Highland | 1817 |
| Brora | Diageo | England | Highland | 1819 |
| Linkwood | Diageo | England | Speyside | 1821 |
| Mortlach | Diageo | England | Speyside | 1823 |
| Cardhu | Diageo | England | Speyside | 1824 |
| Port Ellen | Diageo | England | Islay | 1825 |
| Benrinnes | Diageo | England | Speyside | 1826 |
| Talisker | Diageo | England | Highland | 1830 |
| Glenkinchie | Diageo | England | Lowland | 1837 |
| Glen Ord | Diageo | England | Highland | 1838 |
| Royal Lochnagar | Diageo | England | Highland | 1845 |
| Caol Ila | Diageo | England | Islay | 1846 |
| Dailuaine | Diageo | England | Speyside | 1852 |
| Cragganmore | Diageo | England | Speyside | 1869 |
| Inchgower | Diageo | England | Speyside | 1871 |
| Glenlossie | Diageo | England | Speyside | 1876 |
| Glen Spey | Diageo | England | Speyside | 1878 |
| Strathmill | Diageo | England | Speyside | 1891 |
| Dufftown | Diageo | England | Speyside | 1896 |
| Dalwhinnie | Diageo | England | Highland | 1897 |
| Glendullan | Diageo | England | Speyside | 1897 |
| Glen Elgin | Diageo | England | Speyside | 1898 |
| Knockando | Diageo | England | Speyside | 1898 |
| Clynelish | Diageo | England | Highland | 1967 |
| Mannochmore | Diageo | England | Speyside | 1971 |
| Leven | Diageo | England | Lowland | 1973 |
| Auchroisk | Diageo | England | Speyside | 1974 |
| Roseisle | Diageo | England | Highland | 2009 |
| Coleburn | Diageo | England | Speyside | 1890s |
| Tobermory | Distell Group Holdings Limited | South Africa | Highland | 1798 |
| Bunnahabhain | Distell Group Holdings Limited | South Africa | Islay | 1881 |
| Deanston | Distell Group Holdings Limited | South Africa | Highland | 1965 |
| Dornoch | Dornoch Distillery Company Limited | Scotland | Highland | 2016 |
| Strathearn | Douglas Laing | Scotland | Highland | 2013 |
| Dunphail | Dunphail Distillery Ltd. | Scotland | Speyside | 2023 |
| Jura | Emperador Inc. | Philippines | Highland | 1810 |
| Fettercairn | Emperador Inc. | Philippines | Highland | 1824 |
| Dalmore | Emperador Inc. | Philippines | Highland | 1839 |
| Tamnavulin | Emperador Inc. | Philippines | Speyside | 1966 |
| Ailsa Bay | Emperador Inc. | Philippines | Lowland | 2007 |
| Falkirk | Falkirk Whisky Distillery Company Ltd | Scotland | Lowland | 2020 |
| Daftmill | Francis and Ian Cuthbert | Scotland | Lowland | 2005 |
| Glenturret | Glenturret Holding SA | Switzerland | Highland | 1775 |
| GlenWyvis | GlenWyvis Distillery Ltd | Scotland | Highland | 2017 |
| Cairn | Gordon & MacPhail | Scotland | Speyside | 2022 |
| Ardross | Greenwood Spirits Limited | England | Highland | 2019 |
| Bonnington | Halewood Artisanal Spirits PLC | England | Lowland | 2020 |
| Speyside | HOE International Ltd | Taiwan | Speyside | 1976 |
| Ardnahoe | Hunter Laing Holdings Limited | Scotland | Islay | 2017 |
| Glengoyne | Ian Macleod Distillers | Scotland | Highland | 1833 |
| Rosebank | Ian Macleod Distillers | Scotland | Lowland | 1840 |
| Tamdhu | Ian Macleod Distillers | Scotland | Speyside | 1896 |
| Eden Mill | Inverleith 1B Limited Partnership | Scotland | Lowland | 2014 |
| Lochranza | Isle of Arran Distillers | Scotland | Highland | 1993 |
| Lagg | Isle of Arran Distillers | Scotland | Highland | 2019 |
| Isle of Harris | Isle of Harris Distillers Ltd. | Scotland | Highland | 2015 |
| Glenfarclas | J. & G. Grant | Scotland | Speyside | 1836 |
| Springbank | J&A Mitchell | Scotland | Campbeltown | 1828 |
| Glengyle | J&A Mitchell | Scotland | Campbeltown | 2004 |
| Glen Scotia | Jiangxiaobai Liquor Co | China | Campbeltown | 1832 |
| Loch Lomond | Jiangxiaobai Liquor Co | China | Highland | 1965 |
| 8 Doors | Kerry and Derek Campbell | Scotland | Highland | 2022 |
| Kilchoman | Kilchoman Distillery Co. | Scotland | Islay | 2005 |
| Aberagie | Kincardine Limited | England | Lowland | 2017 |
| Aberargie | Kincardine Limited | England | Lowland | 2017 |
| Glen Moray | La Martiniquaise | France | Speyside | 1897 |
| Abhainn Dearg | Mark Tayburn | Scotland | Highland | 2008 |
| Annandale | Mathematical Research Limited | England | Lowland | 2014 |
| Ardbeg | Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton | France | Islay | 1815 |
| Glenmorangie | Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton | France | Highland | 1843 |
| Clydeside | Morrison Glasgow Distillers | Scotland | Lowland | 2017 |
| Port of Leith | Muckle Brig Distilleries | Scotland | Lowland | 2023 |
| Nc’nean | Nc’nean Distillery Ltd | Scotland | Highland | 2017 |
| North Point | North Coast Distillers Limited | Scotland | Highland | 2020 |
| North Uist | North Uist Distillery Ltd | Scotland | Highland | 2019 |
| Orkney | Orkney Distilling Limited | Scotland | Highland | 2018 |
| Strathisla | Pernod Ricard | France | Speyside | 1786 |
| Glenburgie | Pernod Ricard | France | Speyside | 1810 |
| Glenlivet | Pernod Ricard | France | Speyside | 1824 |
| Miltonduff | Pernod Ricard | France | Speyside | 1824 |
| Aberlour | Pernod Ricard | France | Speyside | 1826 |
| Scapa | Pernod Ricard | France | Highland | 1885 |
| Longmorn | Pernod Ricard | France | Speyside | 1894 |
| Glentauchers | Pernod Ricard | France | Speyside | 1897 |
| Glen Keith | Pernod Ricard | France | Speyside | 1957 |
| Tormore | Pernod Ricard | France | Speyside | 1958 |
| Braeval | Pernod Ricard | France | Speyside | 1973 |
| Allt-a-Bhainne | Pernod Ricard | France | Speyside | 1975 |
| Dalmunach | Pernod Ricard | France | Speyside | 2015 |
| Tullibardine | Picard Vins & Spiritueux | France | Highland | 1949 |
| Bladnoch | Pure Scot Pty Ltd. | Australia | Lowland | 1817 |
| Jackton | RAER Spirits | England | Lowland | 2020 |
| Bruichladdich | Rémy Cointreau | France | Islay | 1881 |
| Ardgowan | Roland Andreas Grain | Austria | Lowland | 2025 |
| Torabhaig | Sastre Holding SA | Switzerland | Highland | 2016 |
| Edradour | Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Co. Ltd | Scotland | Highland | 1825 |
| Benromach | Speymalt Whisky Distributors Limited | Scotland | Speyside | 1898 |
| Lindores Abbey | Spirex Ltd. | Scotland | Lowland | 2017 |
| Stirling | Stirling Distillery Company Ltd | Scotland | Lowland | 2023 |
| Tomatin | Takara Holdings Inc. | Japan | Highland | 1897 |
| Balblair | ThaiBev | Thailand | Highland | 1790 |
| Balmenach | ThaiBev | Thailand | Speyside | 1824 |
| Pulteney | ThaiBev | Thailand | Highland | 1826 |
| Knockdhu | ThaiBev | Thailand | Highland | 1893 |
| Speyburn | ThaiBev | Thailand | Speyside | 1897 |
| Cabrach | The Cabrach Trust | Scotland | Speyside | 2024 |
| Highland Park | The Edrington Group | Scotland | Highland | 1798 |
| Macallan | The Edrington Group | Scotland | Speyside | 1824 |
| Glenrothes | The Edrington Group | Scotland | Speyside | 1878 |
| Glasgow | The Glasgow Distillery Co. | Scotland | Lowland | 2015 |
| GlenAllachie | The Glenallachie Distillers Co Limited | Scotland | Speyside | 1967 |
| Holyrood | The Holyrood Distillery Ltd | Scotland | Lowland | 2019 |
| Borders | The Three Stills Co. Ltd | Scotland | Lowland | 2017 |
| Isle of Tiree | Tiree Whsiky Company Limited | Scotland | Highland | 2019 |
| Uile-bheist | Victoria and Jonathon Erasmus | England | Highland | 2023 |
| Kingsbarns | Wemyss Development Company Limited | Scotland | Lowland | 2014 |
| Glenfiddich | William Grant & Sons | England | Speyside | 1886 |
| Balvenie | William Grant & Sons | England | Speyside | 1892 |
| Kininvie | William Grant & Sons | England | Speyside | 1990 |
Just one of Scotland’s 25 oldest working distilleries is still owned in Scotland, while newer, less well-established distilleries tend to be domestically owned.
Some distilleries bought out by offshore firms in recent years were founded as early as the 1700s – including Scotland’s oldest, Glenturret. Others include Bowmore, Oban, Tobermory, Highland Park, Jura and Laphroaig.
Buyouts of Scots distilleries are viewed as a positive sign of foreign investment by some. Critics, however, have expressed concern that profits could be siphoned out of Scotland.
Distillery owners
The Ferret looked at distilleries which produce single malt whiskies. These are whiskies which are produced at one distillery, in copper pot stills, and from water and malted barley without any additional cereals. Single malts make up many of Scotland’s most iconic and prestigious whisky brands.
To be branded as single malt Scotch whisky, the drink must be bottled – but not owned – in Scotland.
Today, 32 distilleries – more than a fifth – are held by the London-listed international spirits giant, Diageo – the single largest owner. Most were founded in the 18th or 19th century.
They include well-known malts like Oban, Talisker in Skye, and Glen Ord, Glendullan, and Dufftown distilleries, which produce Singleton whiskies.
The French spirits group, Pernod Ricard, owns 13 distilleries, including Scapa in Orkney, and Glenlivet, Aberlour and Tormore.
Other major foreign owners are Thailand’s ThaiBev, Philippines-based Emperador, Japan’s Beam Suntory, and Bermuda-owned Bacardi.
Each firm controls five Scottish distilleries. Beam Suntory-owned distilleries include Auchentoshan, Laphroaig and Bowmore, while ThaiBev owns Tamnavulin, Jura, Dalmore and others.
Perthshire-based Glenturret – the oldest distillery in the country, which was founded in 1775 – is owned in Switzerland.
Oil and Gas
Total lobbying of Scottish MSPs since 2021: 238
Ownership outside the UK: Norway, Canada, US
Scotland is considered the largest producer of oil and the second largest producer of gas in Europe, according to NatureScot. According to Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), the trade body for the North Sea industry, just under half – around 90,000– of the nearly 220,000 jobs supported by the UK oil and gas sector are in Scotland.
But arguments about who owns Scotland’s oil and gas have long raged.
We looked at the operators with the biggest stake in the highest producing oil and gas production hubs in the Scottish adjacent waters of the North Sea according to Dundas Consultants and found the majority are owned by foreign companies or governments outside of the UK. The rest were owned by companies ultimately registered in England. Only one in ten of these companies’ directors was registered as resident in Scotland on Companies House with less than half based in the UK.
Oil and gas field owners
Total Energies operates the two biggest production hubs in the North Sea and is one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, registered in France. The firm is the largest equity holder in the Elgin hub, which at peak production was turning out approximately seven per cent of total UK oil production.
Other big players include UK firm BP which has a majority stake in fields off the coast of Shetland. The company was once majority state-owned, but privatised under Margaret Thatcher’s government. Its biggest shareholders now are reportedly the American asset management giants BlackRock, Vanguard and activist investor Elliot, which is said to have played a role in BP’s decision to row back on its green targets.
Serica is a lesser known UK-based firm which merged with energy company Tailwind in 2023. That company’s largest voting shareholder is Swiss oil trading firm Mercuria. It operates the Bruce field.
Some of the biggest production hubs are majority owned by foreign governments. They include China National Offshore Oil Corporation or CNOOC Petroleum, established by the Chinese state in 1982. CNOOC UK’s immediate parent company is held in the British Virgin Isles, number one in the corporate tax haven index. Its largest North Sea production hub is Buzzard, about 100 miles off the coast of Aberdeen.
The Norwegian majority state-owned oil company, Equinor, formerly known as Statoil, also has several holdings including an 80 per cent share in the proposed, and controversial, Rosebank oil field. Environmental activists claim the field will increase emissions and drive climate change, which Equinor denies.
The remaining 20 per cent stake of Rosebank is held by Ithaca Energy, whose Israeli parent company, the Delek Group, is headed-up by billionaire Yutzhak Tshuva, who made his money in energy and property.
In April 2024 The Ferret revealed that Delek also owns a stake in Delek Israel, a petrol station chain which held a multi-million-pound contract to provide refuelling services to Israeli military vehicles. Its contract was later extended, despite widespread condemnation of the Israeli military’s actions in Gaza, which have claimed over 40,000 lives according to Palestinian officials. Delek has also been named on a UN list of firms whose activities in the occupied West Bank caused “particular human rights concerns”.
Other companies with foreign owners include Harbour Energy, founded by American private equity firm EIG Global Energy Partners in 2014. It purchased its first North Sea assets from Shell for $3bn three years later. Its largest stakeholder is now German-registered chemicals company BASF, following a merger with another company called Wintershall.
Also topping the energy charts is Apache, which bought up the Forties oil field – one of the largest in the North Sea – in 2003. Though ultimately owned by US energy firm the APA corporation, its immediate parent company is held in the Cayman Islands, a corporate tax haven.
Farmed salmon
Total lobbying of Scottish MSPs since 2021: 116
Ownership outside the UK: Norway, Canada, US
Farmed salmon from Scotland is the UK’s biggest food export and global sales of Scottish salmon were worth £844m last year. The product is a key part of the UK Government’s ‘Brand Scotland’, which is an initiative to sell the “very best of Scotland to the world”
The industry claims that Scottish salmon is “globally recognised for its superior quality” while the Scottish Government says “salmon is the jewel in the crown of Scotland’s world-class produce”. However, campaigners are highly critical of its environmental and animal welfare record.
Salmon farm owners
Mowi (formerly Marine Harvest), a Norwegian multinational operating in 70 countries, it is the world’s largest farming company and a major player in the Scottish market. Mowi Scotland has 48 farms that employ 1,500 staff in the Highlands.
Its largest shareholder is Geveran Trading, which is registered in Cyprus and owned by Norway’s richest man, John Fredriksen, a shipping billionaire. According to the US business magazine, Forbes, he is worth £12.9bn and lives as a tax exile in Cyprus. The second largest shareholder is the Norwegian state pension fund.
Scottish Sea Farms is another significant firm in the sector with 660 staff and 46 fish farms in Scotland, including 22 in Orkney and 29 in Shetland. It is a subsidiary of the Norwegian firm, Norskott Havbruk, which is owned by two other Norwegian companies, Leroy Seafood Group and Salmar. Most of SalMar’s shares are owned by the Norwegian investment company, Kverva, which is in turn owned by Gustav Magnar Witzøe, another billionaire worth £2.4bn, according to Forbes.
Bakkafrost Scotland (formerly The Scottish Salmon Company) is owned by P/F Bakkafrost, a company in the Faroe Islands and its largest shareholder is the Norwegian state pension fund, Folketrygdfondet. Bakkafrost has 60 fish farm sites across the west coast of Scotland and employs over 500 people.
Others are owned by North American firms such as Cooke Aquaculture Scotland which runs salmon farms in Canada, the US, Chile. It has 40 sites in Orkney and Shetland, where the firm employs 380 people. It is ultimately owned by a Canadian multinational called Cooke Inc which is headquartered in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, Canada.
In Sutherland and the Hebrides, Loch Duart employs 167 people. The firm is registered in Glasgow but owned by an American fund called SAF II Master Fund, which is managed by a US investment firm called Vision Ridge Partners in Boulder, Colorado.
Organic Sea Harvest – registered in 2017 in Skye – is part-owned by Villa Seafood UK, a multinational seafood company, headquartered in Ålesund, Norway, and a Dutch firm called Visscher Seafood.
OSH announced in March that a decision had been made to fallow its farms at Culnacnoc and Invertote until refinancing could be agreed for the business, including for the development of a new farm near Balmaqueen.
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Whisky image: iStock/bizoo_n
This article was updated at 09.02 on 23/04/25 to explain that Organic Sea Harvest is seeking refinancing.
There are / were 3 majors shareholders of Organic Sea Harvest, all overseas. Dominic Porp0ro of Toronto, Canada in addition to those listed from Norway and the Netherlands. The 3 overseas owners are those that are still listed under Organic Sea Harvest Holdings Limited. The filing of accounts for year ending 31/12/23 for both these companies is well overdue.