AWARD-WINNING Glaswegian lager maker Genius Brewing will ramp up production in 2020 with a £60,000 loan from UMi Debt Finance Scotland, a £12 million fund that forms part of the Scottish Government’s Scottish Growth Scheme.

Genius Brewing was established in 2016 with a mission to "make healthier drinking a pleasure, not a compromise".

The £60,000 loan will help Genius produce their next 150,000 cans and also scale up their marketing.

In April 2018 the company launched Gen!us Craft Lager, which won Best UK Craft Lager at the 2019 LUX Life Food & Drink Awards.

Creative director Jason Clarke said: “The UK craft beer market is crowded but Gen!us is the UK’s first light craft lager, with just 3% ABV and only 79 calories per distinctive gold can.”

Clarke continued: “The lightbulb moment for co-founder Charlie Craig and I was realising that the wider trend for healthier lifestyles would change people’s drinking habits.”

Genius Brewing is taking advantage of this worldwide trend, where consumers are reducing their alcohol and calorie consumption.

Tom Brock, fund director at UMi Debt Finance Scotland, said: “The team at Genius are passionate about their product and are innovators in their sector. They understand their market and changing consumer tastes, and we are delighted to support their ambitious growth plans.”

Craig said: “For a small business, applying for debt finance from banks or commercial loan funds can be a long, laborious process – but we needed to move fast.

“It was clear that the culture at UMi Debt Finance Scotland, which is government-backed, was driven by a desire to support ambitious, small companies.

“Their default mindset is ‘yes’ rather than ‘computer says no’, and the application process was as ‘light’ as we could have hoped for.”

Genius Brewing is using a combination of equity and debt to finance the growth journey, Craig explained: “Both have their advantages, and in the case of the UMi Debt Finance Scotland loan, the fact that it is unsecured gives comfort to our current and future equity investors.”