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[ Industry advisory · Hospitality ]
Strategic advisory for producers carrying excise, equipment and a venue at the same time.
Brewing, distilling and cellar-door operators carry a genuinely different financial profile to most hospitality. Alcohol excise is a major and specialised tax exposure, tanks and stills are serious capex, and the channel mix — taproom retail versus wholesale and distribution — shapes margin more than most operators realise. We help producers understand the economics across excise, capital and channel, and make the calls that actually move the business.
[ What we hear, again and again ]
The pressures inside breweries, distilleries & cellar doors.
None of these are signs of a poorly-run business. They're signs that the financial relationship around the business hasn't kept up.
- 01Alcohol excise — a major, specialised tax exposure most accountants don't engage with seriously
- 02Capital intensity: tanks, stills, packaging lines and venue fit-out tying up cash
- 03Inventory and maturation (especially in distilling) sitting on the balance sheet for years
- 04Taproom / cellar-door retail margin very different to wholesale and distribution
- 05Distributor terms, freight and breakage eroding wholesale margin invisibly
[ How we work ]
What strategic support actually looks like.
- 01
Excise position, remission entitlements and reporting reviewed as a discipline — not an afterthought
- 02
Channel margin separated clearly — taproom, cellar door, wholesale, distribution, export
- 03
Inventory and maturation properly valued and modelled into working capital
- 04
Capex on production equipment framed against real payback and capacity uplift
- 05
Structure designed for production IP, venue operating risk and asset protection
[ The numbers that matter ]
What good operators in this industry actually watch.
Not a long list — the handful of numbers that, watched consistently, change how the business is run.
01
Excise as % of revenue
The single biggest line most producers under-manage
02
Channel gross margin
Taproom vs cellar door vs wholesale vs distribution
03
Inventory days / maturation stock
Cash tied up in product not yet sold
04
Cost per litre / per unit produced
Real fully-absorbed production cost
05
Capacity utilisation
Actual production vs installed capacity
- 01
Weekly numbers that actually drive a venue — wages, food cost, sales mix
- 02
Monthly profitability review, by venue and by daypart where it matters
- 03
Quarterly cash, tax and operational pressure points
- 04
Annual planning — capex, expansion, structure and exit thinking
[ The honest line ]
Producers who engage seriously with excise, channel margin and capital intensity make better decisions about where to grow, what to brew or distil next, and when to invest. We help build that clarity.
[ The next conversation ]
Get the excise, capital and channel picture straight.
Bring the messy stuff. The numbers, the pressures, the decisions you've been putting off. The first conversation is structured, candid and obligation-free.
[ Other practices in hospitality ]