Nearly 70 per cent of malt distilleries are ultimately owned by companies outside Scotland with wealthy people linked to the whisky industry — including a French fashion billionaire, an Australian yoghurt tycoon, a Swiss philanthropist and Thailand’s richest man. The Ferret can reveal that of the 126 Scots distilleries only a third (42) are owned by Scottish firms. Companies based in Bermuda, Gibraltar, China, France, Japan, Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand are among those investing in an industry which was worth £3.8bn to the Scottish economy in 2020. Foreign investment has been welcomed by some commentators. But others expressed concern that profit could flow out of Scotland and domestic industry be excluded.