Press Release

Master of Malt announces they are once again 100% founder-owned.

The Atom Group returns to being fully independent.

Written by

Alex Holbrook

Dram of whisky in a Master of Malt glass

Today, the multi-award-winning online retailer, wholesaler, distributor, and drinks brand innovator has returned to the original founder of the business, Justin Petszaft’s, ownership.

“I am incredibly proud to be able to say that we are once again a fully independent and 100% founder-owned business.” States Petszaft. “We can now focus on growing a beautiful ecosystem comprising every link in the premium spirits value chain, which is also open to the rest of the industry as a platform and service provider. We want to share everything we’ve learned over the last 25 years building this business from scratch, and make it a little easier for the next bunch of kids in a shed to turn their dream into reality.”

He goes on to explain “When I built the first Master of Malt website back in 1999, I had no idea then that I would still be here a quarter of a century later.

For years, I was a one-man band - chief cook and bottle washer - and yet slowly but surely things began to grow, and in 2009 we built an entirely new e-commerce tech platform from scratch and the company took off. Back then the industry was something of a sleeping giant waiting to be disrupted by the internet, and we were just a bunch of kids who didn’t really know what we were doing but knew there was something special here we could build if only we could work out how - we made a lot of mistakes, but somehow over the next few years we managed to build the number one online whisky retailer in the world, as well as a trade, distribution and product businesses all in one tightly coupled self-reinforcing ecosystem.

In April, 2018 we decided that the best way forward to grow the business would be to find a new owner. We went into the AB Inbev relationship with a lot of excitement and energy, and a lot of hope about what could be accomplished together; we felt they were as ambitious and excited by how technology could transform the drink's industry as we were.

However, despite the progress we made, it eventually became clear that Atom was still too early in its lifecycle to fit well within AB InBev and make the most of the resources available. In many ways, we were and still are much more like a startup than an established mature business with stable processes which can be easily scaled.

As you can imagine, I was over the moon when AB InBev reached out to float the buyback proposition, and we spent the next few weeks working night and day to put together a transition plan.

I could not be more grateful to AB InBev for their support over the years, and their unparalleled professionalism and decency in recognising that Atom could only reach its full potential as an independent founder-lead company and facilitating the transition back to independence.”

ENDS

Master of Malt is a multi-award-winning e-commerce platform set on shortening the distance to amazing drinks by delivering the world’s best drinks-buying experience.

A genuine leader in its field, Master of Malt has taken the title of Specialist Online Retailer of the Year at the Drinks Retailing Awards 2022; UK eCommerce Food & Drink Website of the Year at the UK eCommerce Awards in 2022; Distribution Company of the Year at The Drinks Business Awards 2022; Online Retailer of the Year at the World Gin Awards 2022 and the World Whisky Awards 2023; Best Social Media Campaign at UK Social Media Communications Awards 2019; Online Retailer of the Year at both the Icons of Whisky and the Icons of Gin 2023 and a finalist in the Grocer Gold Awards 2023 Specialist Online Retailer of the Year