Canterbury Partners acted as Lead Advisor to New World Whisky Distillery Pty Ltd (trading as Starward Whisky) on the sale of 100% of the business to founder David Vitale via a management buyout completed in December 2025.
Founded in Melbourne in 2007, Starward is a flavour-first Australian whisky matured in local red wine barrels and crafted for a new generation of whisky drinkers. The business has evolved into a modern, fully integrated whisky platform, encompassing in-house distilling, blending and bottling from its Port Melbourne distillery, supported by a sizeable maturing whisky bank and a diversified product portfolio spanning Two-Fold, Nova, Honeycomb and Solera.
The brand has achieved international recognition, including being named Most Awarded International Distillery at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (2024), the only Australian distillery ever to win this title twice.
The transaction delivered a clean ownership outcome and positioned the business for its next phase of growth under founder leadership.
