Hallgarten & Novum Wines eyes up further growth

UK wine importer Hallgarten & Novum Wines is looking to expand following its acquisition by Coterie Holdings, stating that the company had made “a record start” to the current financial year in accounts filed at Companies House. 

In accounts filed at Companies House recently, the company said the acquisition “has brought with it many exciting opportunities for the future development of the company, both in terms of new significant customers and new exciting suppliers and products.”

In June, db reported that the wine importer has already expanded its team with more than a dozen new recruits in the last six months, including the newly created roles of technical manager, HR and payroll manager, alongside new appointments in brand management, sales and regional account management, and four new customer service advisors.

At the time, managing director Andrew Bewes said there had already been “a record start” to the new financial year, with “2024 is shaping up to be a transformational year for the business, with new suppliers, new customers and new faces already enhancing the way we operate.”

In the accounts filed at Companies House, the director’s statement reiterated this, stating that “the benefits are starting to be felt as the company has had a record start to the year ending March 31, 2025”

It’s key focus was to “take maximum advantage of these opportunities and to ensure the continuation of its widely recognised high service levels” it stated, and that “in anticipating considerable growth due to these opportunities, the company has embarked on a recruitment drive to ensure that it can manage this growth.”

Flattening results

The company has extended its reported period to match that of its parent company, Coterie Holdings, reporting revenue for the 15 months to 31 March 2024 at £74.28million compared to £60.935 million of the 12 months to December 2022.

Despite being slightly lower than the previous year if compared over a comparable timeframe, the trajectory is still a marked improvement on the two prior years, which were severely impacted by the fallout of Covid-19 and Brexit logistic problems. In the 12 months to December of 2021, for example, Hallgarten and Novum Wines reported revenue of just £47m, up from £35m in the year before, and a pre-tax profit of £1.4m.

Operating profits in the most recent 15 months decreased however, to £2.02, down form £2.259million in the previous 12 month period, while gross margin also fell from 16.1% to 15.7%. The company attributed this to “high inflation and the difficulty in passing on costs increases in a weak market”.

In December 2023, Hallgarten & Novum Wines, Drinks Company of the Year at The Drinks Business Awards 2023, was bought by Coterie Holdings for an undisclosed sum.

Coterie is the holding company for fine wine merchant Lay & Wheeler, Coterie Vaults and fine wine valuation and lending specialists Jera, and is helmed by drinks industry veteran Michael Saunders, who joined Coterie Holdings as CEO in January 2024.

Speaking to the drinks business in June, Saunders revealed Coterie’s ambitious plans to grow the business internationally and become a “repository of fine wine data”.