Chapel Down boss announces departure as winemaker’s sales and profits fall

Chapel Down’s chief executive resigns as the wine company reports a fall in first-half sales and profits.

Andrew Carter joined England’s largest wine producer as chief executive three years ago but will step down in the first half of 2025 to run cask brewer Timothy Taylor.

During his tenure, Chapel Down has enjoyed record orders thanks to warm weather that produced bumper vintages and growing international interest in British-made wine.

The Kent-based company sold 887,000 bottles in 2023, helping its turnover rise 15 per cent to £17.9m and profits jump 87 per cent to £2.3m.

However, its pre-tax profits virtually disappeared in the first six months of 2024, falling 98 per cent to £40,000, partly due to investment in technology, a greater share of still wine sales and the costs of selling aged wines.

Net sales revenue also fell 11 per cent to £7.1m due to a drop in orders from off-trade outlets such as supermarkets and liquor stores.

Chapel Down attributed the decline to one-off factors such as the timing of retailers restocking and strong comparisons to King Charles’ coronation last year.

Total off-trade revenues fell 36 per cent to £3.1m, offsetting growth in its online, export and on-trade divisions.

However, the company is confident of a better performance in the second half, supported by “strong underlying consumer demand” among other factors, and expects full-year sales to rise by a single-digit percentage.

Andrew Carter said: ‘Chapel Down remains the market leader in the English wine industry, with the leading brand, the deepest distribution and internationally recognised wines.’

Carter joined Chapel Down in 2021 after spending four years as managing director of Chase Distillery in Hereford, where he oversaw the company’s acquisition by Diageo.

He has also worked for spirits giant Bacardi, cider producer Bulmers and Australian winemaker Treasury Wine Estates.

Founded in 2002, Chapel Down operates around a tenth of the total vineyards planted in the UK and counts former Saracens Rugby Club chairman Nigel Wray and Conservative Party donor Lord Spencer among its major investors.

The company joined the AIM exchange in December last year to attract further investment and boost liquidity, part of plans to double its size between 2021 and 2026.

It has since launched a strategic review to find ways to raise more funds, with a sale to private equity groups one of the possible options being considered.

Chapel Down Group shares fell 12.2 per cent to 61 pence on Wednesday afternoon, making them one of the biggest fallers on the AIM All-Share index.