1. Home
2. News

Majestic ‘exploring’ purchase of Vagabond Wines

The acquisition by Majestic, which itself was bought by Fortress Investment Group in 2019, will see the business further expand its on-trade channel.

In its most recent publicly available accounts, covering the year to March 27, 2022, Vagabond, the popular ‘self-pour’ wine bar chain, made a gross profit of £5.2m on revenues of £7.4m.

• Read more: Vagabond under ‘no threat of closure’ despite appointing administrators
  

However, earlier this month, Vagabond confirmed it was looking to restructure the business as a way of clearing historic Covid-related debts.

The chain, which was founded in 2009, also suffered from the loss of its highly profitable Heathrow site, which was forced to close back in January due to the airport’s internal plans to re-configure its security.

Despite financial difficulties, a partnership could be beneficial for both parties, combining Vagabond’s experiential wine setting with Majestic’s extensive resources. 

A Majestic spokesperson said: “Majestic can confirm that it is exploring a deal to purchase all or part of the Vagabond Wines business. Majestic cannot comment further on ongoing discussions but we are hopeful of securing a deal.

“Since our acquisition by Fortress Investment Group in 2019, we have invested heavily in our growth plan, opening 16 new shops; hiring many new colleagues; supplying thousands of premium hospitality businesses through our B2B division; and training thousands of colleagues as one of the biggest wine educators in Europe."

The partnership is another milestone for Majestic Commercial as it continues to pursue a significant growth strategy.

During the first half of the 2023/24 financial year, Majestic’s wholesale arm supplied more than 300 new pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels across the UK as part of its ambition to become one of the biggest on-trade suppliers in the nation.

• Majestic
• vagabond
• Wine Bar
• Heathrow
• Fortress Investment Group
• Majestic Commerical