EXCLUSIVE: RAK's Falcon Brews secures term loan from Indian bank for $65mln brewery and bottling project
Falcon Brews, the GCC's first licensed brewery and spirits blending and bottling project, has secured a $25 million term loan facility with the Middle East subsidiary of an international Indian bank, a senior company official confirmed to Zawya Projects.
Refuting market rumours about the project being on hold, the company official, who did not wish to be named, disclosed that the loan has been structured against India-based assets as collateral.
The $65 million project, located in Ras Al Khaimah, is being developed in two phases with approximately $45 million allocated to the brewery and $20 million to the spirits bottling plant.
'We are taking a loan only for Phase 1, which will cost us $35 million and we have secured $25 million from the bank as part of our 70:30 debt equity model,' he said.
The official said disbursements to contractors and suppliers will be milestone-based, with the remaining facility potentially converted into working capital upon project completion.
As first reported by Zawya Projects in May 2024, Falcon's funding structure involves 30 percent promoter equity and 70 percent debt. The company has held discussions with both UAE-based and international banks as well as a few global brewers to finance the debt portion.
Construction work starts
'We started construction on the project as planned but experienced delays due to a gas pipeline running through the plot. That issue has been sorted,' he said, adding that construction will start simultaneously on both the plants.
He said the spirits bottling line, initially slated for completion by end-2025, is now expected to be ready by January 2026, while the brewery is targeted for completion by end-2026.
'We have also finalised the MoU with the brewery and plan to sign the final agreement by end July,' the official said.
The official said that the project has received considerable interest from Indian investors as well as non-resident Indian investors of African-origin based in UAE.
'Maybe, three years down the line, we may consider them in case of early closure of our loan,' he said. 'We will then look at the funding for Phase 2 and may not take a loan at that time. Depending on our financial position, we could look at bringing in an equity investor at that time."
The May 2024 Zawya Projects report had also noted that the promoters are targeting regional and African markets through strategic manufacturing partnerships.
According to a report by the UAE's state news agency WAM in April 2025, the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which came into effect on 1 May 2022, has significantly boosted investment and trade flows between the two countries. It stated that India ranked as the UAE's second-largest foreign investor, accounting for a 6.3 percent share of total FDI as of the end of 2022.
(Reporting by Sona Nambiar; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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