Accolade Wines has reached a deal to sell its The Park bottling and warehousing facility in the UK to glass manufacturer Encirc.
The agreement will see Accolade enter into a ten-year contract bottling and distribution agreement with Encirc for its flagship beverage brands. Financial terms were not disclosed.
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In a statement, Accolade said the deal includes The Park facility in Bristol and all plant and equipment. The 400 employees in manufacturing at the site will transfer to Encirc on their existing terms, while non-manufacturing staff will continue with the European arm of Accolade’s business.
Accolade Wines CEO Robert Foye said the decision to offload The Park facility and strike the bottling and distribution deal with Encirc would deliver “the optimal supply chain structure” to support the company’s growth strategy in key markets, including the UK and Europe.
He added: “Accolade Wines is committed to excellence across its global supply chain in terms of innovation, quality, efficiency and sustainability.”
“The Park represents best practice across all of these criteria and, through our collaboration with Encirc with its deep experience and networks across Europe, we will be able to continue accessing all the benefits of this world-class facility while extracting additional efficiency and flexibility in our supply chain.
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By GlobalDataThe Park will join Encirc’s three existing sites. Two are in the UK – one in Derrylin, Co Fermanagh and the other in Elton, Cheshire – with the third in Corsico, Italy. The Park will add an annual capacity of over 30m nine-litre cases of wine to its manufacturing capabilities.
Encirc MD Adrian Curry said: “This deal shows how collaboration and innovation between organisations who put sustainability and planet-first operations first can lead to the realisation of a shared vision.
“This deal will allow us to service the UK glass beverage market with an offering that is unrivalled globally in terms of service and sustainability. We are excited to welcome our new colleagues from The Park into the Encirc family.”
The transaction is expected to close in January.
Accolade Wines has sold a number of assets in recent months, as rumours about a possible sale by US owner Carlyle Group continue to swirl.
Earlier this month, the Adelaide-headquartered firm announced it had struck a deal to sell its Brookland Valley Estate vineyard to Australian peer the Swinney family under sale-and-leaseback terms.
In August, the group disposed of its Nannup winery to Fogarty Wine Group, while in July sold its Beenak Vineyard in Melbourne’s Yarra Valley to Treasury Wine Estates for around US$5m.
Also in July, the group offloaded 155 acres of vineyards near the McLaren Vale to Randall Wine Group.
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