Scots cocktail firm Panther M*lk featured on Dragons' Den goes bust with all jobs lost

A Scottish cocktail firm, which featured on Dragons’ Den, has gone bust with all jobs lost.

Glasgow-based Panther M*lk, founded by Paul Crawford, featured on the show in 2022 and secured investment from the Dragons.

The product uses oat milk to create a plant-based alcoholic drink, particularly aimed at vegans. It is inspired by the Spanish cocktail ‘Leche de Pantera’.

Beastly Brews Limited, parent company of Panther M*lk, appointed Donald McKinnon of Wbg as provisional liquidator earlier this month.

The firm sold directly to Amazon and supermarket chains such as Asda and the Co-op.

The company employs seven people, and all were made redundant prior to the provisional liquidator’s appointment.

Commenting on the events leading up to the liquidation, Mr Crawford said: “We had invested in the production of stock in advance with the intention of supplying to Tesco and Sainsbury’s, but both arrangements fell through, leaving us with too much stock, the cost of production to account for, and, ultimately, cashflow difficulties as we sought to offset the stock, resulting in this unfortunate liquidation.”

Mr McKinnon added: “It is sad to see the demise of such an innovative drinks company with such great potential.

“The company still holds stock, amounting to around 17,400 of bottles of varying flavours and we are currently exploring opportunities to dispose of this stock to interested parties.”