Freixenet-Copestick merger to create sparkling super supplier

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 09 November, 2018

UK-based wine supplier and brand owner Copestick Murray and Cava giant Freixenet have revealed plans to merge as of January 1.

The deal follows the news in July that Henkell & Co acquired a 50.70% stake in Grupo Freixenet, thus becoming the world’s largest sparkling wine group with 8% share of the global sparkling wine market.

Copestick Murray has been wholly owned by Henkell & Co. Group since 2016, but the new deal will see Freixenet UK Limited and Copestick Murray Limited officially operate as one company.

Named Freixenet-Copestick Limited, the new company is forecasting combined turnover of over £100 million in 2019, with Damian Clarke, current managing director of Freixenet UK and Robin Copestick, managing director and joint founder of Copestick Murray, at the joint helm.

The deal cements the two companies’ ambitions to be the number one supplier of branded sparkling wine in the UK, with particular focus on Copestick Murray’s flagship I Heart and Mionetto Prosecco brands, alongside Freixenet’s Cava and Prosecco SKUs.

“Our combined business will be a leader in the Sparkling Wine category and with the resources and backing of Henkell and Freixenet we are well placed to continue driving category growth,” Clarke con-firmed.

The companies' core brands, Freixenet, i heart WINES and Mionetto, will account for around 60% of the company’s turnover.

Plans for 2019 include moving both operations into a new standalone office in Newbury, Berkshire, as well as a separate company in the Republic of Ireland – alongside further investment in NPD.

NPD has been a “strength of the flagship brands”, the company said in a statement, with the recent launches of Freixenet Prosecco and i heart Champagne Didier Chopin continuing to focus on opportuni-ties in the sparkling segment.

Robin Copestick, MD of Copestick Murray said his experience with Freixenet has come fill circle after his first job in London was selling Cordon Negro for Moreno Wines in the 1980s.

“The Freixenet brand and the excellence of the Freixenet team will be a great addition to what we have achieved at Copestick Murray. The future is looking very bright,” he said.

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