Two Fife distilleries have signed an open letter to the Scottish Government calling for rates relief during the coronavirus lockdown.
Lindores Abbey and Kingsbarns distilleries are among eight across the country seeking help to keep their businesses going throughout the pandemic.
None of the distilleries have qualified for the year-long 100% rates holiday granted to all hospitality, retail and leisure businesses in Scotland, despite most of their income coming from retail and visitor centres.
Visitor centres, cafes and shops have been closed at all of the companies, including Lindores and Kingsbarns, since the lockdown in March.
William Wemyss, managing director at Kingsbarns Distillery, said 70% of his revenue came from such income and that the last few months had been testing.
Lindores Abbey managing director Drew McKenzie Smith revealed he is paying £52,000 in business rates but only five of his 40 staff work in the distillery.
Both said they appreciated the support in place to address some of the impacts of the pandemic, including support for employees, but more help is required.
They said their businesses “mainly or wholly met” the criteria for business rates relief.
“We are all modest, independent craft distilleries which rely heavily on a business model that welcomes tourists, weddings and other events to earn revenue,” they said.
“In doing so, we provide a typically warm Scottish welcome to tourists from across the world, are key contributors to a growing and valuable whisky tourism sector and, in may cases, act as local anchors for other businesses and services around us that also rely on visitors.”
The eight distilleries collectively employ 110 visitor experience staff and welcomed more than 200,000 visitors in 2019.
“We are all proud to have created a substantial number of jobs in the communities in which we operate,” they said.
“Finally, in many cases we have done our part in the fight against covid-19, producing hand sanitiser at our cost or raising funds for the NHS or other necessary community services which have been put under strain in the current environment.”
The letter follows a similar call last month from the Scottish Whisky Association (SWA).
An SWA spokesman said: “As currently set out, many distilleries will continue to pay full business rates, despite some sites relying heavily on the income from visitor centres.
“We have called on the Scottish Government to extend the business rate relief and grants package to ensure that whisky distilleries are covered.”
The Scottish Government said it had pledged to support businesses with a package of measures worth £2.2 billion and that economy secretary Fiona Hyslop had met the SWA to reiterate its position.
