UK wine retailer Majestic Wine has struck a deal to acquire the bulk of the Vagabond Wines bar business from administration.
Majestic will now run nine Vagabond’s wine bars located in the UK, taking on 171 members of its staff.
The deal, struck for an undisclosed sum, will allow Majestic to reach a younger demographic of wine drinkers, it said. Majestic intends to open more locations.
“In Majestic, we believe we have found the perfect partner to enhance the unique strengths of the Vagabond business and drive a new phase of profitable growth,” Vagabond Wines MD Matt Fleming said.
“Vagabond’s bars help our customers discover unique, quality wines in a highly experiential setting – values that align perfectly with what Majestic’s colleagues do every single day in their stores.”
Vagabond Wines had been operating an “urban” winery located at London’s Battersea Power Station, plus additional wine bars in the city. It has two on-premise venues in Birmingham and at Gatwick Airport.
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By GlobalDataThe deal with Majestic does not include sites at Gatwick Airport and Canary Wharf. The administrators appointed to Vagabond Wines – Quantuma Advisory – said they will continue to run the Gatwick Airport on-premise location while it looks for buyers but Canary Wharf will cease operations “shortly”.
Vagabond Wines, which was founded in 2010 by UK entrepreneur Stephen Finch, filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators last month. Finch left the company in December.
In Vagabond Wines’ most recent financial results for the year ended 27 March 2022, it posted revenue of £7.4m ($9.4m), with a gross profit of £5.2m.
Majestic said it intends to open an “average” of one store every month in the “coming” years as it looks to grow across the UK.
Majestic was bought by US-based investor Fortress Investment Group in 2019 for £95m.
Two years later, the Fortress Investment Group acquired UK pub estate, Punch Pubs & Co., from Patron Capital Partners. That deal saw the group take on 1,300 on-premise sites in the UK.
