Whyte & Mackay, the distiller of Scotland's best-selling whisky brand, has been sold for £595m to UB Group, the Indian conglomerate behind Kingfisher beer.

The deal provides a windfall for chief executive Vivian Imerman, who with relatives including his brother-in-law Robert Tchenguiz, the property entrepreneur, acquired the business for £200m six years ago with backing from West LB. The bank's interest was bought out four years later.

As well as dominating the beer trade in India, UB Group already has a 60% share of the subcontinent's spirits market, which is heavily protected from competition by federal and state import duties. Whyte & Mackay's brands include the Isle of Jura single malt and the low-priced Vladivar vodka brand as well as its eponymous mass market whisky. It sold 9m cases in the last 12 months.

Vijay Mallya, the boss of UB Group, which has annual sales of 66m cases, said: "Until today, the only missing link in our portfolio has been scotch and due to the shortages and rapidly increasing prices of Scotch, we needed a reliable supply source to secure our future."

Multinational drinks groups have stepped up investment in scotch as demand, particularly for top-priced blends, has risen in the Far East.

Diageo boss Paul Walsh, announcing a £100m investment programme, recently predicted: "India will be a huge scotch market and Johnnie Walker will be the scotch of choice."