ENTREPRENEUR – James Espey

BRANDS

shareholder, mentor, adviser.

I have spent the last 50 years in business building Brands and People, and now in my semi-retirement I focus on a few specific areas: entrepreneurial activities, mentoring, writing and philanthropy.

Below are some of the companies that I’ve advised, mentored and invested in over the years, to assist in their success.

Current Holdings

Trigger

Trigger is a global trade publishing house devoted to opening conversations about mental health. We tell the stories of people who have suffered from mental illnesses and recovered, so that others may learn from them.

Pallite

PALLITE^® is a range of award-winning and innovative transit packaging that offers lightweight, strong, and recyclable pallets, pallet boxes and layer pads. Designed to reduce the total cost of delivery using honeycomb-cell technology.

Marlin Spike

MarlinSpike, rum, but not as You know it

Made from rare aged and mellow Latin American rums, MarlinSpike is a surprising blend that delivers a complex depth of flavour yet with a unique breath of freshness.

Wiltshire Whisky

Set in the heart of South West Wiltshire, the beautiful nine-thousand-acre Fonthill Estate provides us with the perfect setting and surroundings to make the finest English whiskies.

LAST WORD

Intimate Hotels and Safari Camps. Safari, Beach, Wine and Food.

Our acclaimed 5-star luxury boutique hotels, located in South Africa's most legendary locations, are serene sanctuaries filled with lovely people and kindness.

Experience 'beyond boutique' accommodation at our secure, exclusive residences.

Tagmarshal

Tagmarshal is a unique system for golf courses to speed up play and thus enhance the golfing experience as well as generating superb revenue.

Uberbinder

Transformative Cold-Mix Asphalt and Concrete binder technology to make roads and cement cheaper, stronger and better for the environment.

Small Beer

THE WORLD’S FIRST SMALL BEER BREWERY: The Original Small Beer Company

The world's first brewery dedicated to the production of small beer (0.5-2.8% ABV), housed in South Bermondsey, London - Small Beer, Big Taste, Sustainably Brewed.

GHOST TEQUILA

Ghost, a 100% agave tequila rich in tradition and artistry, paired with the spicy, vibrant flavors that we enjoy and want to drink today. Whether you’re sipping it on its own or pouring it into a margarita, we truly believe that every experience is made better with Ghost.

Everymind at work

Everymind was founded through a desire to create a mental health platform that combines access to support with the ultimate goal of removing the stigma through sharing personal experiences.

Xeco wines

XECO is the brainchild of three thirty-something ‘fino fiends’ (including James’ daughter Beanie). With its low-sugar and relatively low-alcohol* credentials, it’s time for Sherry to come out of Granny’s cupboard, and into your fridges.

HAWTHORN'S GIN

A not-so-classic, citrusy London dry gin that is beautifully crafted, perfectly balanced, and tastes like gin should. Following a family wartime recipe, Hawthorn’s incorporates piney juniper berries from Macedonia; zesty orange and lemon peel from Seville; cinnamon from the Seychelles for the spice; cassia bark from Indonesia for strength of flavour and; Sri Lankan nutmeg for sweetness.

slange var

Slange Var is Gaelic for ‘Cheers, to your health’. We produce premium non-alcoholic drinks that are low in calories and packed with flavour. We have won several awards at the SIP competition in California, the only blind tasting competition that enlists consumers as judges.

Previous Holdings

LAST DROP DISTILLERS

THE WORLD'S MOST EXCLUSIVE SPIRITS COMPANY

Together with my long term friend and partner Tom Jago we spent most of our commercial careers building and/or creating volume brands for multinational companies.

Montane

ENGINEERED FOR ENDURANCE:
Montane Sportswear

Montane engineers innovative, lightweight, breathable clothing and equipment for endurance sports and activities in extreme environments.

Montane sold for £600 million, just before lockdown.

Mimecast

Mimecast Limited started in my home in 2003 and is a provider of cloud security and risk management services for corporate information and e-mail. The Company’s suite of cloud services protects customers from business and data security risks. The company has 12 global offices with over 4000 employees, of which more than 400 are UK based. Mimecast was sold in 2022 for $5.8 billion.

Associated Businesses

A family consultancy together with daughter Beanie, Espey & Associates mission is to guide start-up ventures, and moreover, the people behind them through review of strategy, tactics for implementation and long-term focus on core issues and priorities.

Espey Shaw Capital elevates dynamic entrepreneurs and their startups from inception through to realisation of their true financial potential. Let’s change the world together.