Business & Finance - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

New CEO appointed at Direct Wines

Published: 05 December, 2025

Family-owned retailer Direct Wines Ltd – best known in the UK for Laithwaites and the Sunday Times Wine Club – has appointed Philippa Strub as the new group CEO.

Bibendum releases new Vinonomics graph following Budget

Published: 02 December, 2025

The premium wine distributor Bibendum has released a new ‘Vinonomics’ graph (pictured) which breaks down the different costs that make up the price of a bottle of wine, following the Autumn Budget.

WSTA highlights cost of Budget to drinks trade

Published: 27 November, 2025

In the wake of the Budget, the Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has released a table (below) revealing just how much the duty increases will impact prices for the consumer, further dampening demand for wines and spirits.

Bewes to step down from Hallgarten

Published: 24 November, 2025

Hallgarten & Novum Wines MD Andrew Bewes is to step down from his role at the end of March 2026.

Trade bodies warn of significant job losses without urgent Budget support

Published: 19 November, 2025

More than half of UK hospitality businesses are anticipating further layoffs and/or price rises if the upcoming Budget fails to deliver urgent support, according to a new joint survey.

HMRC ‘sin taxes’ revenues down by 35% over last decade

Published: 17 November, 2025

HMRC take from the so-called ‘sin taxes’, comprising alcohol, tobacco and gambling, have continued on a downward trajectory, having fallen 35% in the last decade, according to research by leading accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young.

Global wine sales set to drop -2.4% in 2025

Published: 13 November, 2025

Alcohol data and insights company IWSR has forecasted a -2.4% decline in global wine volume sales for 2025. This plays out against the background of a predicted -0.4% fall in global beverage alcohol volume sales for the year.

WineCap releases Q3 Fine Wine Report

Published: 05 November, 2025

The wine investment platform WineCap has released its Q3 2025 Fine Wine Report, highlighting a strengthening market background.

Campari-owner sees €1.3bn seized due to alleged tax evasion

Published: 03 November, 2025

Shares in Campari Group have fallen 5% today, after police seized shares worth €1.3bn from its majority-owner Lagfin over alleged tax evasion, as reported by the BBC.

Campari Group reports earnings growth with strong Q3 performance

Published: 31 October, 2025

Campari Group has released its financial results for the nine months ending 30 September 2025 – the first three quarters of its financial year, with net sales and earnings both up.

Good Wine Good People acquire Plonk

Published: 23 September, 2025

The wine merchant and online retailer Good Wine Good People (GWGP) will acquire full ownership of the e-commerce wine club Plonk, effective from the end of September.

Liv-ex August Report flags Champagne as 'region to watch'

Published: 18 September, 2025

The Liv-ex August 2025 Market Intelligence Report has been released, giving a snapshot of the top performing traded wines.

Enotria announces strategic rebrand

Published: 18 September, 2025

Enotria&Coe has revealed that it’s bringing back its original name, Enotria.

UKHospitality joins scotch whisky industry’s call for a duty freeze

Published: 11 September, 2025

UKHospitality, the trade body for hospitality which represents over 750 companies in the UK, has backed the Scotch Whisky Association’s (SWA) call for the UK Government to freeze alcohol duty in the Autumn Budget.

Despite tariff uncertainty, Scotch battles on

Published: 10 September, 2025

Establishing a lay of the land for our new tariff world order is an unenviable task. For much of the planet the final tariff landscape is yet to take a solid form. For UK wine and spirits producers, however, there appears for now to be a clearer picture of how their drinks will be levied entering the United States.

Treasury Wine Estates profits up 17%

Published: 13 August, 2025

Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has announced full year results showing underlying profits up 17% to A$770.3m, driven by strong growth for the Penfolds brand following the bounce-back of Chinese markets, and the full year contribution of DAOU.

NICs rises: One-in-five hospitality businesses planning redundancies

Published: 08 August, 2025

Research from Zest, the employee benefits technology provider, and Opinium has highlighted that almost one-in-five hospitality businesses (18%) are planning redundancies this year due to National Insurance Contributions (NICs) rises.

Wine & Sprit Trade Association publishes industry guide

Published: 18 July, 2025

The Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has published a ‘go-to guide’ for the industry, aimed at helping policy makers and politicians “better understand” the UK wine and spirit market.

Winecap: Q2 shows signs of stability for fine wine market

Published: 15 July, 2025

A new report from wine investment firm Winecap shows that although a drop of -3% was seen for the Liv-ex 100 index in Q2 of 2025, the pace of decline slowed, highlighting potential signs of stability.

Tariff threat continues for EU producers

Published: 14 July, 2025

EU wine producers have been assessing the potential impact of a 30% tariff on wine bound for the US market following the latest missive from The White House on Friday (11 July).