Mon, 10 Jun 2013 | BUSINESS SALE
The UK arm of Virgin Wines could be sold to a rival German company, according to recent reports from the Sunday Times.
The paper revealed that Direct Wines, the parent company of the online wine merchant, is understood to be reviewing its ownership of the business.
Although the British operation is likely to be sold, the US arm of the firm is not thought to be affected in any way.
Hawesko, an online wine seller based in Germany, is lined up to buy Virgin Wines if the sale goes ahead. Nothing has yet been confirmed, however, and the price of the company is not yet known.
Virgin Wines was founded in 2000 by Rowan Gormley but took its name after Sir Richard Branson's Virgin empire bought into the business. It was sold to Direct Wines in 2005, however, but retained the distinctive Virgin branding.
Direct Wines, meanwhile, is one of the largest specialist online retailers in the world and turned sales of £353 million in the year to June 2012. In addition to Virgin Wines, it owns Laithwaite's wine merchant and runs the Sunday Times Wine Club. The business was founded in 1969 by Tony Laithwaite when he began importing wine to Britain in his van and originally had the name Bordeaux Direct.
____________________________________________________________________________
Related articles:
Suffolk brewery to be put on the market
Wine maker Boutinot bought in an MBO
Premium prices paid for UK businesses
Opportunity to acquire a well-established builders merchants located in South Wales, offering a robust reputation and a strong customer base.
An exciting opportunity has arisen to acquire a group of established cafes and bars situated in prime locations across three vibrant areas of Bristol.
LEASEHOLD
An exclusive chance to acquire a network of 17 well-established convenience and off-licence stores located in the North of England.
Please choose your settings for this site below. For more information please read our Cookie Policy
These cookies are necessary for our website to function properly and provide you with access to all features.
These are analytics cookies that help us to improve the way our website works.
These are used to improve the functional performance of the website and make it easier for you to use.