Freixenet and Copestick Murray to merge

Freixenet UK and Copestick Murray have announced they will merge to form one company from January 2019.

The new company will be named Freixenet-Copestick and will be jointly headed by Damian Clarke and Robin Copestick, currently managing directors of Freixenet UK and Copestick-Murray respectively.

The new business will be based in Newbury and an Irish office is planned to capitalise on a growing market in both Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Freixenet-Copestick said it expected to have a turnover of £100 million in 2019 and is “confident” it will become the biggest supplier of sparkling wine in the UK by volume and value.

Around 60% of the company’s turnover will be based on its core brands: Freixenet, the ‘i heart Wines’ series and Mionetto.

Damian Clarke commented “It’s great to have this opportunity to join with another rapidly growing UK wine business. Copestick Murray has complementary skills to Freixenet but shares our approach of putting the consumer at the heart of what we do. Our combined business will be a leader in the Sparkling Wine category and with the resources and backing of Henkell and Freixenet we are well placed to continue driving category growth.”

Robin Copestick added “I am incredibly excited and honoured to be working with the Freixenet brand again. My first job in London was selling Cordon Negro for Moreno Wines in the 1980’s so my life has now gone full circle. The Freixenet brand and the excellence of the Freixenet team will be a great addition to what we have achieved at Copestick Murray. The future is looking very bright.”