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W. M. Mendis and Co

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W. M. Mendis and Company
Company typePrivate
IndustryAlcoholic beverage
Founded1947; 77 years ago (1947)
FounderW. M. Mendis
Headquarters
Welisara
,
Sri Lanka
Key people
Arjun Aloysius
ProductsAlcoholic beverages: spirits
OwnerPerpetual Capital Ltd [1]
Number of employees
Decrease 250 to 999
Websitewmmendis.company

W. M. Mendis and Company, is a Sri Lankan beverage alcohol company, with its headquarters in Negombo, Sri Lanka. It is as known one of Sri Lanka's oldest and most renowned liquor manufacturers in Sri Lanka.[2] Considered as one of the pioneers in the field, it still ranks as one of Sri Lanka's largest distillers.[citation needed]

Mendis produces an array of products, including pure coconut arracks, blended arracks, old arracks and foreign liquors, Several of these spirits are for export markets overseas, including Australia, Germany, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[3][4] The company was formerly listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange.[5]

The company resumed operations in November 2022. [6]

History

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Change in Ownership

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In 2011, Arjun Aloysius acquired the controlling stake in Mendis, through Perpetual Capital Ltd, the value was reportedly over Rs. 1 billion.[7][8][9][10][11]

2018-2021

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Mendis lost their license to produce liquor in 2018, due to non-payment of government taxes, and was unable to operate for a long period.[12]

In 2021, Mendis was allowed to restart operations, but almost instantly in a week, the President of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, decided to reverse this decision.[13][4][14][15]

2022

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On 19 April 2022, the People's Bank acquired Mendis' distillery in Aluthgama, after the company defaulted on its debt repayments. The distillery was valued at over Rs. 250 million.[16][17][18]

Resumed Operations - Starting from November 2022, Mendis resumed operations. [6]

Main brands

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  • Blenders choice whisky
  • Island rum
  • London spice dry gin
  • Mendis coconut arrack
  • Rusalka Vodka

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "'Issue Mendis liquor licence to me, not to Aloysius'". 15 August 2021.
  2. ^ "The Alcohol and Drug Information Centre" (PDF). ALCOHOL INDUSTRY PROFILE 2008: AN INSIGHT TO THE ALCOHOL INDUSTRY IN SRI LANKA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  3. ^ "W M Mendis & Co Ltd, Spirits Producer, Distillery, Sri Lanka". internationalbeveragenetwork.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b bugsbunny (5 July 2021). "Cabinet decides to cancel license issued to W.M. Mendis". Colombo Gazette. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  5. ^ "De-Listed Companies as at 30-June 2021" (PDF). cse.lk. Colombo Stock Exchange. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  6. ^ a b "W.M. Mendis resumes operations | Daily FT". www.ft.lk.
  7. ^ "Sri Lanka's Perpetual linked W M Mendis to re-start alcohol production: report". EconomyNext. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  8. ^ "'Issue Mendis liquor licence to me, not to Aloysius'". The Morning - Sri Lanka News. 15 August 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Aloysius' Mendis to re-start operations". The Morning - Sri Lanka News. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Govt's 'Aloysius Special' poured back to the bottle". Print Edition - The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Aloysius trying to 'reclaim' Mendis distilleries". The Morning - Sri Lanka News. 14 June 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  12. ^ "Arjun Aloysius' W.M. Mendis & Co Ltd permitted to restart operations". Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  13. ^ "W.M. Mendis & Co. Ltd - License cancelled". Hiru News. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  14. ^ "FP | Sri Lanka's Perpetual linked W M Mendis to re-start alcohol production: report - FrontPage". 5 July 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  15. ^ "License issued to W M Mendis and Company to produce liquor cancelled -". 6 July 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  16. ^ "People's Bank acquires Arjun Aloysius-owned W. M. Mendis & Co.'s Aluthgama distillery". The Daily Mirror. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Evasion of taxes: W. M. Mendis Directors summoned". Daily News.
  18. ^ "Mendis Directors released on Rs. 15 mn bail".

Further reading

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  • Mendis, W. M (1988). Confessions of an entrepreneur / W.M. Mendis. Colombo, Sri Lanka: W. M. Mendis & Co.
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