Loeb not gone: relocation to Mayfair announced

After a scare that the departure of its directors meant a shock end for UK merchant OW Loeb, it has been announced the company is not closing and will relocate to Mayfair.

The news was announced yesterday evening (15 January) by the owner, Marlon Abela, along with the news that Loeb’s former business development manager, Valeira Rodriguez, has been promoted to sales director and Ben Furst has joined the team from Rothschild’s as head of business development.

A statement from Abela’s group – the Marlon Abela Restaurant Corporation (MARC) – explained that the company would be relocating to the MARC head office in Mayfair following a “corporate restructure”.

Things had looked grim for the venerable UK fine wine merchant when it was noticed all of its directors had departed during 2017, its accounts were overdue and calls to its offices went straight through to voicemail.

Furthermore, as a Burgundy specialist OW Loeb was noticeable by its absence from the annual portfolio tastings of the latest vintage last week (15-19 January).

The statement from MARC explained that the departure of directors Christopher Davey and Brough Gurney-Randall came after an “agreed period of transition” following Abela’s acquisition of Loeb in 2014.

The statement concluded that: “As a wine collector himself, Marlon Abela is a passionate oenophile and is looking forward to implementing new strategies including increasing synergies between OW Loeb and the MARC Group. OW Loeb intend to show case their growers in the best restaurants throughout the UK including all MARC restaurants that boast five Michelin stars across Mayfair.”

Abela is the owner of the newly revamped The Square and The Greenhouse among other venues.