The Aston Lovell Fine Wine Platform – An Update

It is almost a year now since we launched the fine wine platform, and while it has proved extremely popular, we are always seeking ways to improve it, writes Bruce Aston of Aston Lovell.

The first year’s projection of wines bought and sold using our platform is well north of £4,000,000 – and while that figure is nothing compared to the turnover of the bigger merchants, volume – and interest – is growing month-on-month.

The next quarter will see major upgrades across the platform as we enter our next phase of development – and the features available to our clients will be more comprehensive than they have ever been:

When this phase has been completed, our clients will have access to the live Liv-ex bids and offers on 5,000 different wines, along with the current market price of these wines, their average list price, the auction price, recent trades, and volume data.

They will also have access to the new indices feed – meaning that they will have an automated charting tool that will display the latest and historical indices figures.

Other features our clients will enjoy will be state-of-the art performance tools which will deliver a vast array of data, live portfolios that display live price fluctuations (fully downloadable showing profit and loss) and instantaneous communication via email alert when any wine is bought or sold for them.

It is interesting that the sell-only side of our business has grown apace with the rest of it. Perhaps though this is not surprising when the options available to those who own fine wine and wish to sell it are considered. This area of the wine industry can be a minefield for owners of fine wine: with us, it is straightforward.

If you aren’t already a client of Aston Lovell, and wish to sell your wine, we will do so at that day’s live market price, and take a fee of just 6% – which includes the seller’s fee we pay the exchange.

This is, as far as we are aware, the most reliable, straight-forward and cost-effective method anyone can employ to sell their wine.

It is also gratifying that regular orders from restaurants seeking to slash their wine bills are growing steadily, as in most instances, we can provide wines for their lists for less than a merchant.

All in all, it has been an exciting year for both us and our clients: And our basic aim of making wine buying and selling as transparent and hassle-free as possible by connecting the private individual to the trade only exchange, is showing early signs of promise.