Business & Finance - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

EPR fees announced as joint statement laments changes

Published: 30 June, 2025

The delayed details of the official cost per tonne of glass as part of the government’s EPR scheme have been announced by DEFRA.

April drop in hospitality insolvencies though warning signs remain

Published: 23 June, 2025

Fresh data from the UK Government’s company insolvency statistics can reveal that insolvencies in the accommodation and food services sector were down 12% year on year for April, with 275 going bust during the month.

WineFi shows the future of wine investment is now

Published: 16 June, 2025

Callum Woodcock (pictured, left) has just come out of what he describes as fundraising mode, when he, colleague Ollie Thorpe (pictured, right) and I meet to talk about their year-old start-up.

WSTA Industry Summit predicts 10% US tariff on UK here to stay

Published: 12 June, 2025

The first iteration of the WSTA Industry Summit since 2019 saw themes of resilience and adaptability underscore the global and domestic challenges explored. Key takeaways from the event included tariff predictions and the need to unwind the ever-frustrating policy burden of “three-word acronyms” from EPR to RAM.

IWSR acquired by WGSN

Published: 05 June, 2025

Drinks industry data and insights provider IWSR has been acquired by trend forecasting company WGSN.

WineFi recruits Matthew Small as head of investment

Published: 05 June, 2025

The wine investment company WineFi has added Matthew Small (pictured, right) to its team as head of investment.

IWSR expects global drinks trade to grow by $16bn

Published: 29 May, 2025

Data from IWSR predicts that the global drinks industry will grow by USD $16bn over the next five years. The positive outlook contrasts to the relative stagnation the global trade saw in 2024.

Joint statement bemoans impact of EPR on hospitality

Published: 27 May, 2025

In a letter sent to the Prime Minister and Chancellor, a coalition of leading pub, hospitality and brewing bodies has laid out its concerns regarding the cost and impact of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy.

Fine wine market suffers biggest drop since August 2023

Published: 20 May, 2025

The fine wine index dropped in April by the greatest amount since August 2023. The Liv-ex May Market Intelligence Report said the industry standard Fine Wine 100 closed down 1.7%, attributing the decline to the introduction of tariffs and the En Primeur tastings.

Campari sees Q1 sales drop amid tariff squeeze

Published: 09 May, 2025

Italian drinks giant Campari Group has seen a –4.2% fall in organic net sales for Q1 of 2025. The company believes the drop has come amid ‘heightened macroeconomic volatility’, in part caused by the uncertainty caused by US tariffs during this period.

Black Chalk targets growth with appointment of Neil Irvine

Published: 07 May, 2025

Hampshire wine estate Black Chalk has announced the addition of Neil Irvine to the newly created role of sales director. The onboarding comes as the producer seeks to boost sales growth.

AWL announces creation of new global wine company Vinarchy

Published: 30 April, 2025

Australian Wine Holdco Limited (AWL), the consortium of institutional investors, has announced the creation of a new global wine company, Vinarchy. The announcement signals the finalisation of the sale of Pernod Ricard’s international wine portfolio to AWL.

Diageo GB announces new marketing and innovation director

Published: 30 April, 2025

Drinks giant Diageo Great Britain has announced the appointment of Ursula Mejía Melgar as its new marketing and innovation director. The role will see the new director responsible for shaping leading brands including Guiness, Smirnoff and Gordon’s in the UK market.

Robin Copestick joins Packamama board

Published: 28 April, 2025

Climate-friendly packaging company Packamama has appointed I Heart wine brand founder and Friexenet Copestick MD Robin Copestick as a non-executive director to its board.

Hospitality insolvencies decline but remain historically high

Published: 28 April, 2025

Fresh data from the Insolvency Service shows an 11% drop in company insolvencies among businesses in the hospitality sector. The fall signals a slight improvement, however the number still remains historically higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Cognac sales slump for Moët Hennessey in Q1

Published: 15 April, 2025

Data released from parent company LVMH shows that its wine and spirits division Moët Hennessey has seen a year on year drop in revenue when comparing to Q1 2025 to Q1 2024, driven by a poor performance for its cognac and spirits brands. The luxury goods giant believes this revenue fall is partly due to the ongoing ripple effects of tariff uncertainty.

Winecap: High demand growth expected for fine wine

Published: 02 April, 2025

The wine investment firm Winecap in its UK Wealth Report 2025 has revealed that 96% of British wealth managers expect demand for fine wine to grow in 2025, more than any other luxury asset.

Naked Wines announces ambitious growth plans

Published: 27 March, 2025

A new strategic plan from Naked Wines has been announced by the online retailer, including the aspiration of reaching £10-15m annual earnings before earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the medium term.

‘Missed opportunity’ for businesses via Spring Statement

Published: 27 March, 2025

The trade has expressed its disappointment that no relief for businesses will be forthcoming via Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement, as the industry continues to face a roster of tax hikes from the last Autumn Budget.

Virgin Wines eyes profit growth surge to £100m

Published: 26 March, 2025

Virgin Wines, one of the UK’s leading online wine retailers, has announced a new growth strategy which aims to increase the company’s yearly revenue to £100m within five years. This would represent a substantial increase as the retailer's revenue for the 2024 financial year stood at £59m.