Alliance Wine enjoys bumper year

A string of contract wins has helped boost full-year net sales by 25% at Scottish importer and distributor Alliance Wine.

The Ayrshire-based importer recently posted record results, with revenues in the year to January up to just under £17.7 million.

The number of cases sold last year rose by more than 50% to 485,000, helped by several new deals, including a £1m contract to provide bespoke wine lists for Edinburgh-based bar and restaurant operator Montpeliers Group.

Alliance, which runs a sales office in London and a subsidiary in Australia, said it had seen a 125% rise in sales of Spanish wine, reflecting the popularity for Iberian wines among UK drinkers. Other regions to record significant increases included Chile and Austria, up 74% and 62% respectively.

The firm’s marketing and buying director, Giles Cooke, said: "It’s been a very challenging year for many businesses in the UK, so we are delighted to have seen such an impressive rise in turnover over the past 12 months.

"There is still a strong demand for high-quality wine and we are committed to sourcing the best bottles from around the world."

Lucy Shaw, 07.03.2011