Hundreds of staff at a whisky distillery are to reap a £26m windfall from the sale of the company.

Glasgow-based Whyte & Mackay was sold to an Indian drinks giant in a £595m deal this week.

Outgoing chief executive Vivian Imerman has announced he will pay the 600 employees bonuses equivalent to three months' salary from his own pocket.

The South African entrepreneur said he was rewarding them for their role in transforming the fortunes of the firm.

Mr Imerman, 52, bought Whyte & Mackay - which owns the Dalmore and Jura brands as well as Vladivar vodka and Glayva liqueur - in 2001 for £208m.

He told The Herald newspaper: "Clearly it has been a team effort by all the people involved, not just senior management.

"The 20 or so people at the top have been handsomely rewarded but I wanted to reward everybody.

"I therefore felt it appropriate, on a discretionary basis, to give every single employee this bonus. It is effectively a 25% bonus, which is worth around £26m in total."

Whyte & Mackay has been snapped up by the billionaire owner of the UB Group, Vijay Mallya - dubbed India's Sir Richard Branson after he took his Kingfisher beer brand into airlines.

He will become chairman and chief executive of the firm, with Mr Imerman remaining for now as his strategic adviser.

Most of Whyte & Mackay's staff are employed at its Highland grain distillery in Invergordon and bottling plant in Grangemouth, Falkirk.