Ex-Tesco wine buying manager joins Cadman

By Lisa Riley

Published: 26 May, 2021

Cadman Capital Group, a private equity firm that specialises in the retail wine sector, has appointed former Tesco buying manager, James Reed, as its new general manager of retail wine.

Wine businesses owned by the company include The New Zealand House of Wine, The South Africa House of Wine and Cadman Fine Wines.

In his new role, which is a newly created position, Reed will be responsible for building the “structures and processes” needed to continue to achieve the business’ growth goals across its wine portfolio.

He joins following a record-breaking year for The New Zealand House of Wine and The South Africa House of Wine, with both having achieved “higher-than-average” sales in 2020 driven by the “drastically-increased consumer demand for direct-to-door wine delivery, alongside improved logistical operations, increased online marketing activity and an enhanced customer service offering”, said Cadman Capital Group.

Bringing a wealth of wine trade experience with him, in addition to Tesco, Reed also previously worked at Majestic.

“We are excited to welcome James as we move into the next phase of our growth strategy for our retail wine businesses,” said Giles Cadman, chairman of the Cadman Capital Group.

“Following a strong year of sales, we believe that James’ extensive knowledge of the wine industry will allow our retail wine businesses to flourish, with a focus on building stronger supplier relationships to deliver the best customer offer,” he said.

Reed added: “I’m delighted to be appointed general manager of retail wine at the Cadman Capital Group. Both of our New World wine businesses have distinctive and exciting positions in the market, with The New Zealand House of Wine stocking the UK’s largest selection of New Zealand wines and The South Africa House of Wine being the UK’s only dedicated supplier of South African wine.

“In addition, Cadman Fine Wines is a business with a 20-year operating history that has the opportunity for further development and modernisation. With drastic growth potential, and the support of a great, long-serving team, I’m looking forward to building on the success of the current portfolio and taking the businesses to the next stage of their growth.”

The Cadman Capital Group began building its retail wine portfolio in 2001 with the creation of Cadman Fine Wines. In 2019, its portfolio grew following the acquisition of The New Zealand House of Wine, whose business model was quickly mapped with the launch of The South Africa House of Wine.

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