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News
Treasury Wine Estates rumoured to bid for Chapel Down
Penfolds owner Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) is rumoured to be going head to head with fellow Australian drinks giant Accolade Wines in a takeover bid for the English winemaker.
Chapel Down, the UK’s biggest wine producer, revealed it was considering putting itself up for sale last month as the firm conducted a strategic review of its business.
Chief financial officer Robert Smith said the company would “review the full range of long-term funding options” to support the firm’s growth and investment plans.
As part of the review, it will look “consider all alternatives”, it said, including a sale of the company — as well as investment from new and existing shareholders.
Potential buyers
An article published by The Sun newspaper this morning posits both TWE and Accolade as potential buyers.
According to The Sun, sources have said the sale was at an early stage and interest from other rivals could still emerge, though the two Australian wine giants were directly named as interested parties.
Chapel Down CEO Andrew Carter, who joined the firm in 2021, has previously worked for TWE.
the drinks business reached out to Chapel Down this morning, but the firm said it has no comment on its alleged potential buyers.
AIM
News of the Kent-based winery’s potential sale comes only six months after the producer was admitted to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) as part of its bid to “attract a wider pool of investors”.
Carter said at the time: “The decision to move the Company’s shares to AIM reflects increasing demand from institutional investors.
“We believe it will help attract new investors to participate in Chapel Down’s growth as the leading producer in the world’s newest global wine region.”
It also follows the company, which was founded more than twenty years ago, looking to expand its operations.
In March 2023, the producer said it would produce three million bottles a year by 2028, and extend plantings to 1,023 acres (414 ha) by 2024 as part of a “long term enterprise”.
Chapel Down also reported earlier this year that it remained “on-track” to deliver double digit sales growth in 2024, and “retains a strong balance sheet with significant headroom” to its existing debt facility of £12m — alongside an agreement in principle “to extend and increase this facility”.