Armit Wines sees £2m swing in profits

UK fine wine merchant Armit Wines has seen its profits increase by £2 million in two years, and turnover up to £22 million during 2021, according to accounts filed at Companies House.

Speaking to the drinks business in December, Armit’s managing director Brett Fleming said the  company’s “significant” improvement in the financial year came after a three-year turn around of the business which has resulted in the company being in a “far healthier place” than it had been for a number of years.

Shortly before Fleming was brought into the business in November 2019, the company had posted a £500,00o loss. The following 12 months saw this turn into a “modest” £320,000 profit. However 2021 saw a further £1 million of profits added, taking the swing to around £2m in the last two years, which it said was due to “a more strategic placement of key wines in terms of route to market and greater operating efficiencies”.

Turnover also rose 7% increase in the 12 months to £22 million, with gross profits up to 25.4%  from 22.7% last year due to successful en primeur campaigns.

The company, which was acquired by Invivo in 2017, said the business model had created “exponential growth” during the most challenging period in the trade’s history, becoming more agile and utilising a mix of sales channels, as well as working closely across all routes to market to ensure it is quick to respond to the changing trading environment.

This, it said, had enabled Armit to resist some of the adverse impacts of Covid, with higher margin channels doing particularly well, feeding into and justifying the strategy to focus on premium route to market solutions. There was also an increase in its customer base, while a number of premium suppliers also joined its portfolio.

Managing director Brett Fleming said the company was in the second year of “exponential growth” despite it having been a tumultuous few years for many in the trade and the team were on track to reach turnover targets of more than £30m in the next two to five years.

“Our results highlight that our strategy to focus on quality, alongside investing in more efficient routes to market and developing our sales channels, is working well,” he said.  “Furthermore, this business model is proving sustainable and we are already in a strong position in the early stages of our new fiscal year.”

“We are charged by our suppliers to match their excellence in the wine they produce with our own efforts in ensuring they are placed with the right accounts, people and consumers. This has been a key focus over the last two years and is a significant factor in now seeing the results in our numbers.”

“We will continue to work closely with our suppliers, whose stories are integral to the fine wine they masterfully make and we sell; and we promise to continue to bring our loyal customers access to some of the finest wines and suppliers across the world.”

Read more: 

Armit eyes up ambitious growth 

Wine supplier warns of further contraction in the UK market

Related news

Bourgogne wine see global growth despite difficult market conditions

Playing the long game: fine wine’s global trajectory

Brits prefer a G&T to a cup of tea