William Chase (entrepreneur)

William Chase
Born	William Chase Herefordshire, UK
Residence	Herefordshire, UK
Nationality	British
Occupation	Entrepreneur
Years active	1980–present
Children	James Chase, Harry Chase, Austin Chase, Thomas Chase

William Chase is a British entrepreneur based in Herefordshire, UK. He is the founder and former owner of the Tyrrells crisp brand and his current business ventures include Chase Distillery, Ltd. that produces Chase Vodka and Williams Gin.

William Chase grew up on his family’s farm, Tyrrells Court, near Dilwyn in Herefordshire. Having purchased the farm from his father at the age of 20 with a bank loan of £200,000, a poor potato harvest and high interest rates forced him to declare bankruptcy in 1992. He then re-established his business and began trading in potatoes to generate additional income.

In 2002, William Chase launched Tyrrells: a premium crisp brand made from potato varieties grown on his farm, including Lady Rosetta and Golden Wonder. Chase initially favoured upmarket outlets such as Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges and Harrods, and independent retailers over mass-market sellers, notably by forcing Tesco to cease stocking the product in 2006. Turnover reached £14 million by 2008, when he sold a majority stake in the firm to investment company Langholm Capital for £30 million.

William Chase invested the proceeds from the sale of equity in Tyrrells to found the Chase Distillery, Ltd. in 2008. Initially, the distillery focused exclusively on producing high-quality potato vodka from potatoes grown on site. The construction of an exceptionally tall 70 ft rectification column enabled Chase Vodka to be distilled up to 119 times. Chase Vodka sales totalled £140,000 in the first year and the brand quickly achieved success on the export market. William Chase gradually developed and brought new products to market including fruit liqueurs (notably Chase Elderflower Liqueur) and flavoured vodkas (e.g. Chase Marmalade Vodka and Chase Smoked English Oak Vodka).

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