DOUGLAS Laing & Co has seen pre-tax profits more than double to £1 million after the whisky firm launched new brands and boosted its senior management team.

The independent blender and bottler bounced back after booking an anticipated fall in profits in the 11 months to March 31 last year. Those were the first accounts to be filed by Douglas Laing since it demerged in May 2013, when its brands and assets were shared by brothers Fred and Stewart Laing.

Now with Fred Laing at the helm, and with a key role for his daughter Cara, the latest accounts show Glasgow-based Douglas Laing lifted turnover by 17 per cent to £3.5m in the nine months between April 1 and December 31. Sales of core brands grew by 30 per cent in a number of markets.

Accounts were filed for nine months to allow the firm to return to reporting over a full calendar year.

The company hailed the impact made by the addition of two brands - Timorous Beastie to its Remarkable Regional Malts range, and Xtra Old Particular to its single cask collection - and by senior executives who joined from Beam, Diageo, Morrison Bowmore and William Grant & Sons.

The acumen and contacts brought by the recruits are credited with boosting its distribution network overseas and in the UK. Larger scale distributors were signed up and more are understood to be in offing, the firm said. In some cases long-standing distribution agreements were renegotiated as the firm takes a harder commercial stance in smaller markets such as Belgium and Sweden.

The period saw the firm continue to invest in its filling programme to help it meet demand in the future. Investment in whisky stocks rose by 20 per cent to £4.6m. Two new filling contracts were secured, which will ensure a flow of spirit for the latest editions to its brand portfolio.

Fred Laing said: "Within that nine months we saw a super rate of growth, particularly the impact of our four Remarkable Regional Malts. They're doing very well for us. The single cask business is still very good as well, but we certainly see blending being imperative for the future. It's a background that I come from."

Mr Laing said Douglas Laing's "traditional markets" of France, Germany and the UK continued to be its strongest. In addition, he named Taiwan, Scandinavia, Hong Kong, Japan and Canada as being "hot", but noted it has had to take a "more commercial stance in certain markets".

Mr Laing said: "Where we have been quite loyal to some smaller importers [where] we have had a nice personal association with them, but it's not been a great commercial association for us in terms of building the brands

"So in a couple of markets, notably Belgium and Sweden, we have had to take a position and quite apologetically indicate to them that we have to go after the business. We are taking a somewhat harder-nosed approach to it and that will happen in other areas as well."

Mr Laing praised the "confidence" brought to the business by its third generation of company leaders, which as well as Cara includes her husband Chris Leggat, its commercial director.

He said the strength of the team has given him time to consider new markets and take an overview of the business, as well as reduce his working hours slightly. But he said he remains "hungry" for success, insisting that he "still gets excited when I see the figures." The firm's progress has continued into its current financial year, with finance director Alick Bisset noting that turnover was up 46 per cent in the first quarter.

Mr Laing said: "When we are getting these sort of increases, with the turnover up 43 per cent when annualised and profit by 177 per cent, these are thrilling numbers for me to see.

"It is continuing into the new financial year and yes I am enthused by it."

Douglas Laing does not anticipate adding to its 18-strong team in Glasgow this year. Mr Laing said "there's got to be a period of consolidation".

The brands and assets of Hunter Laing were split in May 2013 to settle family succession issues. While Fred trades as Douglas Laing, Stewart launched Hunter Laing with sons Andrew and Scott.