Special relationship: Americans snub champagne in favour of English fizz Hospitality Americans are flocking to English wine and snubbing champagne, the boss of England’s biggest winemaker has said. Kent-based Chapel Down said consumers across the Atlantic are fuelling record demand for English sparkling wine, as the AIM-listed firm bets big on the US market. Chief executive James Pennefather told City AM: “Americans are really embracing Chapel [...]
Warm dry summer expected to produce top vintage for UK wines Retail English wine producers are expecting a top quality 2025 vintage after “optimal” weather conditions for many winemakers this summer. Comparisons have already been drawn to the record-breaking harvest of 2018, which provided outstanding grape ripeness and yields. Cherie Spriggs, head winemaker at Nyetimber said she was “quietly optimistic” about this year’s harvest. “2025 is definitely [...]
Billionaire ex-Tory treasurer ups Chapel Down stake after shares collapse Retail The billionaire founder of city brokerage ICAP, Lord Michael Spencer, has upped his stake in English wine maker Chapel Down. The former treasurer of the Conservative party serves as a non-executive director of the Kent-headquartered company and now holds a 27.3 per cent stake. The increase comes after Lord Spencer bought 50,000 ordinary shares at [...]
Gusbourne: Wine maker faces delisting from London’s AIM as shares plummet February 10, 2025 Shares in Gusbourne dropped more than 34 per cent this morning after the English winemaker announced it would consider delisting from London’s junior stock market, AIM. In an announcement to the London Stock Exchange, Gusbourne said it had received a letter from majority shareholder Lord Ashcroft, requesting it to hold a meeting to consider going [...]
Virgin Wines: ‘A decent Christmas was needed and delivered’ January 29, 2025 Virgin Wines delivered a strong Christmas trading performance and outperformed the wider market, although revenue remained flat year on year. Revenue increased by 6.7 per cent year-on year during the six weeks to 27 December, 2024, the company told markets this morning. Sales rose nine per cent in December 2024 versus December 2023, reaching the highest level since the Covid-19 lockdowns, [...]
Naked Wines: Losses shrink but wine seller still has a way to go January 29, 2025 Naked Wines has begun to stem its losses after a tough few years for the wine merchant, although the firm’s sales continues to shrink. The company told the London Stock Exchange this morning that its revenue fell by 10.2 per cent year on year in the 13 weeks ended 30 December, or 8.9 per cent [...]
Chapel Down: Off-trade issues pull England’s biggest winemaker down January 23, 2025 Sales at England’s biggest winemaker, Chapel Down, fell in 2024 due to “one-off” issues in the first half of the year, but the company has still reported net sales revenue in line with guidance. Chapel Down’s share price rose more than two per cent in early trades. Sales of sparkling wine, which accounts for more [...]
British wine industry calls on Eurostar to bring back Kent services January 22, 2025 Britain’s wine industry has called for Eurostar to restart services from two Kent stations to boost the South East of England’s vineyards. The high-speed operator suspended operations from Ashford International and Ebbsfleet in the early stages of the pandemic. But it has faced mounting pressure to bring back the popular routes over the last year [...]
Naked Wines CEO: How to choose the right bottle of wine January 14, 2025 Meet the chief executive "fighting" to turn around Naked Wines, which enjoyed huge success during the pandemic but has been struggling since.
Chapel Down: Winemaker toasts new CEO as finance chief resigns December 13, 2024 Chapel Down has named James Pennefather as its new chief executive while its finance head has resigned after a challenging year for England’s biggest winemaker. The London-listed firm said on Friday that Pennefather will take up the CEO post on 1 February, replacing Andrew Carter – who resigned in September as the firm reported a [...]